Tunde Sulaiman and Lawrence Olaoye with agency reports 
President Bola Tinubu yesterday met with Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican, Rome. The meeting comes shortly after the Pope (formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost) was installed as the Bishop of Rome and the 267th leader of the Catholic Church.
According to a video seen by New Telegraph, the Nigerian leader shook hands with the Pope and had a brief conversation with him before moving away.
However, before yesterday’s meeting with the pontiff, Tinubu had been hosted to a dinner upon his arrival in Rome, by His Eminence Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State to the Vatican.
According to his verified X handle@officialABAT, he said the country was committed to promoting interfaith dialogue, tolerance, and cooperation globally. President Tinubu disclosed that his dialogue with the Secretary of State to the Vatican, was marked by a spirit of fraternity and a shared vision for the future.
Tinubu said that the meeting also focused on common values such as peace, mutual respect, and global solidarity. “I expressed Nigeria’s deep appreciation for the Vatican’s longstanding goodwill and reaffirmed our commitment to promoting interfaith dialogue, tolerance, and cooperation in an increasingly polarised world.
“As always, Nigeria remains a nation open to friendship, grounded in faith, and committed to building bridges of understanding across the world.
“Upon my arrival in Rome ahead of the solemn Mass marking the beginning of the Pontificate of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, I was warmly received and graciously hosted to dinner by His Eminence Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State to the Vatican.
“Our dialogue was marked by a spirit of fraternity and a shared vision for the future, focusing on common values such as peace, mutual respect, and global solidarity. I expressed Nigeria’s deep appreciation for the Vatican’s longstanding goodwill and reaffirmed our commitment to promoting interfaith dialogue, tolerance, and cooperation in an increasingly polarised world.”
After the inauguration mass yesterday, the US pontiff shook hands with several world leaders in St Peter’s Square Other world leaders who shook hands with the Pope included US Vice President J.D Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, among others.
Tinubu had joined other world leaders in Rome, Italy on Sunday for the installation mass marking the beginning of the Pontificate of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV. At the installation mass, Pope Leo XIV set the tone for his papacy with a call to stop exploiting nature and marginalising the poor.
After spending two decades as a missionary in Peru, the 69-year-old is unknown to many Catholics, but during the past week he has offered glimpses of the kind of leader he will be. In meetings with journalists, clergy and diplomats, he repeatedly called for peace in a world full of conflicts and defended social justice.
He also emphasised traditional Catholic values, including the importance of a family built around a “stable union of a man and a woman”, and defended the rights of the unborn.
Before becoming pope, the new pontiff on his personal X account reposted criticism of President Donald Trump’s administration over its approach to migration and also pilloried Vance, but the account is no longer accessible. Leo XIV was elected the 267th pope on May 8 after a secret conclave vote of cardinals that lasted less than 24 hours.
Succeeding the charismatic but impulsive Francis, he takes over a Church still battling the fallout of the clerical child abuse scandal, and trying to adapt to the modern world.
Modernity is not the concern on Sunday, however. Although no pope has been crowned during an inauguration mass since Paul VI in 1963, the event is still a grand affair steeped in tradition.
