Vatican envoy meets Tinubu, hints at Pope’s Nigeria visit
Secretary for Relations with States and International Organisations at the Holy See, Arch. Paul Gallagher, on Saturday hinted that Pope Leo XIV may visit Nigeria in the coming years.
The Vatican’s foreign minister revealed this to journalists after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja.
“We have had a constant presence of the Nuncio over the years and visits from several of the Holy Fathers, and who knows, maybe in a few years’ time, Pope Leo will come to visit Nigeria as well. But that’s all for the future,” Gallagher said after the meeting.
Before his election in May 2025, Pope Leo XIV reportedly visited Nigeria nine times as head of the Augustinian Catholic community worldwide.
According to records, the Pope, then Father Robert Francis Prevost, in his capacity as Prior General of the Augustinian Order, and later as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, visited Nigeria on at least nine between 2001 and 2016, travelling to Lagos, Jos, Benin, Bida, Ibusa, Iwaro Oka-Akoko, Kano, Warri, Kaduna and Abuja.
In April 2026 the Pope embarked on his first apostolic trip to Africa, a 10-day journey covering Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea.
However, the visit did not include Nigeria which is home to over 30 million Catholics, houses over 10,000 Catholic priests, and the largest number of Archbishops on the continent.
Gallagher who led a delegation to the Villa cited President Tinubu’s recent deployment of Paul Adikwu as Nigeria’s ambassador-designate to the Holy See, described the move as proof of a strong and healthy bilateral relationship.
“The President has graciously received me this evening. We had a very nice meeting, very good meeting.
“The relationship is very strong and very healthy, and I was just mentioning that now Nigeria is sending a new ambassador to the Vatican, who is arriving in these days,” he said.
Cardinal Gallagher described his visit as part of commemorative engagements and contacts with the local church and government ahead of the 50th anniversary of Nigeria-Holy See diplomatic relations.
Meanwhile, Tinubu declared that he looked forward to receiving Pope Leo XIV in Nigeria.
He said the Pope’s spiritual engagement was needed at a time when millions across the world were looking up to him for leadership on peace, according to a statement signed Saturday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy.
The statement is titled ‘Nigerian Government Will Continue to Partner With Religious Leaders to Promote Peace and Tolerance — President Tinubu.’
“I appreciate the Pope. It was an honour for me to lead the Nigerian delegation to his inauguration as Pope Leo XIV. It was a moment of history. I see his efforts all over the world to promote world peace.
“We need his spiritual engagement, as millions around the world look up to him. I look forward to receiving him in Nigeria,” he was quoted to have said.
The President highlighted his personal relationship with the Catholic Church, tracing it back to his tenure as Governor of Lagos State, during which he said he prioritised returning mission schools to religious institutions that had been taken over by military administrations.
“I understand the roles that the Catholic Church has been playing in expanding the frontiers of education, health and humanitarianism in Nigeria. It means a lot to us in Nigeria, and the country is benefiting from it,” he said.
Tinubu also charged the Archbishop with a message for Nigeria’s bishops and religious leaders, saying, “My administration will continue to work on religious harmony among all faiths.”
“Our bishops and religious leaders have been doing a great deal. Please tell them to continue the good work they are doing. Let them continue to preach peace and tolerance. We cannot have an excess of that,” Tinubu added.
On Nigeria’s security crisis, the President argued that the killings are not driven by religion.
He cited his own household as evidence that the conflict was not reducible to religious identity.
“We are also doing a lot to guarantee freedom of worship. As you may be aware, my wife is a pastor at an evangelical church. This downplays the religious connotation that the religious controversy in our country might have taken,” he said.
Tinubu assured Gallagher that the Nigerian military had made significant progress in recent times and remained committed to sustaining those gains, while acknowledging that a single incident could undermine previous achievements.
He said more resources were being allocated to security, with intensified surveillance in previously ungoverned areas, and that his government was investing in youth to reduce their vulnerability to radicalisation and exploitation by terrorist groups.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who was present at the meeting, said Nigeria’s Catholic footprint made the bilateral relationship one of substance.
She explained, “We have over 30 million Catholics in Nigeria. We have over 10,000 priests, and Nigeria has the largest number of Catholic bishops in the African continent.
“So, the visit of Archbishop Gallagher, who is the Secretary for Relations with States and International Organisations, is very, very significant on this 50th anniversary of our bilateral relations with the Holy See.”
She noted that the relationship with the Holy See dated to 1976, with Nigeria opening its own mission in the Vatican in 2012.
The Foreign Minister described the Catholic Church’s contributions to Nigeria as extending far beyond worship and spanning education, healthcare, interfaith dialogue, humanitarian response and the promotion of peace and stability across the continent.
“The Catholic Church is hugely impactful in Nigeria, and the number of educational institutions, healthcare institutions, its commitment to promoting interfaith dialogue, its assistance with Nigerian organisations in humanitarian responses, its dedication to peace and stability, not just for Nigeria but for the African continent and the world, are profound,” Ojukwu said.
