The Vatican has raised the prospect of a future visit to Nigeria by Pope Leo XIV, with the Holy See’s foreign minister suggesting the pontiff could travel to the country in the coming years.
Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with states and international organisations, made the remarks on Saturday after meeting President Bola Tinubu at the presidential villa in 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 told journalists.
The comments are likely to fuel hopes among Nigerian Catholics, who were disappointed when the Pope’s first apostolic visit to Africa in April 2026 did not include the country. Instead, the 10-day tour took in Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea.
Nigeria is home to more than 30 million Catholics, more than 10,000 priests and the largest number of archbishops on the continent.
Before his election to the papacy in May 2025, Pope Leo XIV, then Robert Francis Prevost, was a frequent visitor to Nigeria. As prior general of the Augustinian order and later as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, he travelled to the country at least nine times between 2001 and 2016.
His visits took him to Lagos, Jos, Benin, Bida, Ibusa, Iwaro Oka-Akoko, Kano, Warri, Kaduna and Abuja, building close ties with the local church long before his elevation to the papacy.
Gallagher said his visit to Abuja formed part of commemorations marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Nigeria and the Holy See and included engagements with both church leaders and government officials.
He also welcomed President Tinubu’s appointment of Paul Adikwu as Nigeria’s ambassador-designate to the Vatican, describing it as evidence of a “strong and healthy” bilateral relationship.
“The President has graciously received me this evening. We had a very nice meeting, a very good meeting,” Gallagher said. “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.”
According to a statement issued by the presidency, Tinubu said he looked forward to welcoming Pope Leo to Nigeria and argued that the pontiff’s moral and spiritual leadership was particularly important at a time of global uncertainty and conflict.
The statement, issued by the president’s special adviser on information and strategy, said the Nigerian government would continue to work with religious leaders to promote peace and tolerance.
