Simply put, a conclave is the assembly of cardinals that elects a pope. The word itself comes from the Latin "com" and "clavis," meaning "together" and "key," respectively – highlighting the absolute, ...

Pope Francis's death at the age of 88 means the Catholic Church must choose a new leader. Here's how cardinals elect the next ...

Pope Francis died at age 88 on April 21, setting off a series of centuries-old rituals to select a new leader of the Catholic Church.

The Chicago-born pontiff is the first American to lead the Catholic Church, and while his positions on some of the church’s hot-button issues remain unclear, he has signaled continuity with his ...

Over 130 voting cardinals must decide whether to continue in the direction of Francis or elect a pope likely to choose a more traditional path.

For the first time, the majority of cardinals to choose a pope are not from Europe, as Catholic demographics shift. But Europe remains the largest source of cardinals.

"Conclave" tells the story of Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, dean of the College of Cardinals, played by actor Ralph Fiennes. Lawrence is tasked with leading a papal election or conclave after the pope ...

And yet, the conclave that concluded today in Rome has chosen the first American pope in the history of the Catholic Church: ...

The question facing the conclave is whether the cardinals want to continue in the direction set by Pope Francis.

The Catholic Church is not dying from persecution ... The institutional Church is comfortable with ambiguity. But the conclave must resist the urge to play it safe. The stakes are too high.

The upcoming conclave to elect the successor to Pope Francis will be the largest in the history of the Catholic Church, with 133 cardinal electors expected to gather in the Sistine Chapel on May 7 ...

Pope Leo XIV asked Sunday for prayers for China’s Catholics to be in communion with the Holy See, as he made his first public ...