Catholic Priest Shows Photo of New Pope Leo XIV During Visit to Nigeria in 2016, Shares Why He Came

• A Catholic priest shared a throwback photo of the new Pope during the latter's visit to Nigeria years ago
• Robert Francis Prevost, from the United States of America, is the first ever Pope from the country in 2000 years
• After his announcement as the new Pope, it was announced that he was to be called Pope Leo XIV

A Catholic priest, Fr Ugochukwu Ugwoke, shared a throwback photo of the new Pope Leo XIV during his visit to Nigeria.

He stated that the Pope visited the students in the Augustinian seminary in 2016.

In the post by @FrUgochukwu on X, the Pope was seen with five Nigerians in the photo.

His post read:

“When the new Pope visited his Augustinian brothers in Nigeria in 2016...so he knows Nigeria well.”

A Facebook user, Martin Beck Nworah, shared the same image, giving more details of the pope’s visit to Nigeria.

He said:

“When he was the Prior General of the Order of St. Augustine, the newly elected Pope, Robert Francis Prevost (Pope Leo XIV), visited the Augustinians in Nigeria. He was a former Prior General of the Order of Saint Augustine. Prevost held this position for two terms between 2001 and 2013, and he was the Prior General when he visited Nigeria.”

See the post below:

Reactions trails throwback photo of pope in Nigeria

@sunny_hilary said:

"Nice...just wondering why he didn’t speak any Nigerian language like he did for other countries he was in."

@uugochukwu02 said:

"At least pope don come Nigeria before. He’ll definitely lend more voice to the Christian persecution in the Northern Nigerian community. Fingers crossed."

@Mmes0machukwu said:

"The Augustinians wey i know sabi pursue their students. lol. I wonder how many of these guys are still in the system. Viva Il papa."

@XOghre said:

"White man know Nigeria well. He discovered Nigeria. Black people!!!"

@JosephUmejesi said:

"I like it so much when I see Clergy from Congregations! They've broken lots of boundaries for Evangelization. God bless the Catholic Church."

@zodorick8 said:

"My first daughter went to Loyola Jesuit College Abuja- Pope Francis, a Jesuit became Pope. My second daughter went to St Augustine's College Abuja (Karu)- Pope Leo XVI, an Augustinian became Pope."

@pamelamodella said:

"Interesting. I hope he visits Nigeria again."

@nonso_nwajeri said:

"U have been conditioned to like anything the establishment thrown to you, they successful removed your power of thinking. As long as the establishment is fine, you must abide by their decision. That's one of the dangers of organized religion."

Vatican shares insights behind new Pope’s name

Legit.ng earlier reported that the Vatican shared insights into the name chosen by the new Pope, and listed the upcoming activities he was to perform.

Matteo Bruni, Director of the Holy See Press Office, confirmed that the decision of the new Pope to be called Leo XIV “was a clear and deliberate reference to Pope Leo XIII, author of the 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum. That document marked the beginning of the Church’s modern social doctrine.”

Following his election as the new pontiff, Pope Leo XIV would be attending 3 events from Friday, May 9, 2025, to Monday, May 12, 2025.

Proofreading by James Ojo, copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng