Earlier on Friday, 6 March 2026, Pope Leo XIV received the first group of Bishops from Nigeria in the Apostolic Palace during their “ad Limina Apostolorum” visit. The official visit “to the Threshold of the Apostles” is a routine but very important engagement between local churches and the universal church, one which takes place approximately every five years for Diocesan Bishops all over the world. It is a moment when Bishops present their Diocesan reports to the Holy See, highlighting the joys and challenges facing the Gospel in the local terrains.
The Holy Father was visibly elevated receiving the Nigerian prelates. This “ad Limina Apostolorum” pilgrimage to Rome comes at a difficult time for Christians in Nigeria, where communities continue to experience violence, killings, kidnappings, community displacement and attacks on churches. Bishops from the provinces of Benin, Ibadan, Lagos, Onitsha, and Owerri met with Vatican officials to discuss the Church’s evangelizing mission, human dignity, peace, and the common good.
The pilgrimage officially began on Monday, 2 March, with the celebration of the Eucharist at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, entrusting Nigeria, the Church, and her people to God’s mercy and guidance. The liturgy was presided over by Most Rev. Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, immediate past President of the CBCN.
The programme involved series of official encounters with several dicasteries of the Roman Curia, touching on spiritual, pastoral, moral, societal and other urgent concerns. Among those visited were the:
Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments,
Dicastery for the Causes of Saints,
Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue,
Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity,
Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life,
Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development,
Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and the
Secretariat of State.
The Bishops were also joyfully received at dinner by fellow Nigerian Bishop, His Excellency, Most Rev. Fortunatus Nwachukwu, Secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelisation, in the African spirit of conviviality and fraternal exchange.
United in prayers for the Church and the entire people of Nigeria, the Bishops on pilgrimage invite all people of goodwill to accompany them spiritually and continue to pray and work assiduously for the Church’s Mission of evangelization and the fruitful realization of the Church’s commitment to human dignity, peacebuilding, and the pursuit of the common good.
