By Joshua Egbodo
Abuja
His Holiness, Pope Francis XVI has said that he had been praying for the peace and stability of Nigeria.
The Pope made this known when he met with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon Yakubu Dogara in Saint Peters Square in the Vatican City.
A statement by the Special Adviser to the Speaker on Media and Public Affairs, Mr Hassan Turaki, said the pontiff made the remark when the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, led the Nigerian delegation to the Holy See for a morning mass where nationals and leaders from different countries of the world gathered to join His Holiness for the devotion and receive blessings.
Dogara, who described the meeting with Pope Francis as “awesome”, stated that he was pleasantly surprised and delighted to know that the pontiff was well informed about the happenings in Nigeria.
“The moment I was introduced to him as the Speaker of the Nigerian Parliament, he said ‘how is Nigeria and how are you working for the peace of Nigeria?”
Pope Francis then told the Speaker that he always prayed for the peace of Nigeria, saying, “I pray for the peace of Nigeria and pray for me also.”
The Speaker was accompanied by the Nigerian Ambassador to the Holy See, General George Godwin Umo (retd), who disclosed that the Pope has been holding mass in honour of the 26 Nigerian girls that died in the Mediterranean Sea, while trying to enter Italy few weeks ago.
Dogara is in Italy on the invitation of the President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Ms Laura Boldrini, for an international conference on “Human Trafficking and Women Empowerment: The Partnership Between Nigeria and Italy.”
