Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, has sent a high-level delegation to Vatican City to attend the funeral of Pope Francis, scheduled for Saturday, April 26th.
The five-member delegation is being led by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Other members of the delegation include the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu; Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria; Archbishop of Sokoto Diocese, Archbishop Matthew Hassan Kukah; and Archbishop of Abuja Diocese, Archbishop Ignatius Ayua Kaigama.
Pope Francis, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, died on Monday, April 21st, 2025, at the age of 88. His death came a day after he appeared for Easter Sunday celebrations at the Vatican.
The delegation will formally present a letter of condolence from President Tinubu to the Acting Head of the Vatican. The letter conveys the President’s sympathy and expresses his condolences on the passing of Pope Francis.
On Monday, President Tinubu joined Catholics and Christians globally in mourning the Pope, describing him as “a humble servant of God, a tireless champion of the poor, and a guiding light for millions.”
In his condolence message, President Tinubu noted that Pope Francis’s death, occurring just after Easter, represented “a sacred return to his Maker at a time of renewed hope for Christians.”
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