Pope Francis To Consider Visiting Nigeria – Onaiyekan

Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan has said that the Supreme Pontiff, Pope Francis, is considering visiting Nigeria.

He, however, noted that the pope has not fixed a date for the visit which is part of his itinerary.

He made the statement at the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN).

According to him, he extended an invitation to Pope Francis to visit Nigeria during their recent Ad Limina visit to the Vatican.

He however revealed that the Pope, being the Head of State and head of the Catholic Church, cannot visit Nigeria without the invitation of the Federal Government.

Onaiyekan said, “Both the government and the church will be responsible for the visit.

“So, both governments and the church are involved. In other words, a Pope will not visit a country if the government of that country does not invite him.

“We have not reached the stage of contacting the government yet. All the formalities will normally start after there is a tentative decision by the Pope to visit. There is no point telling government to be making moves if the Pope is not thinking yet of visiting.

“In any case, you know that first, we have a Pope’s ambassador here in Nigeria and a Nigerian ambassador in the Holy See. So, these are the people who will handle all those diplomatic aspects,” he said.