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.

Pietro Parolin could be the first Italian to serve in the papacy since 1978. The 70-year-old is known as a diplomat and a ...

Deepening unity among Catholics will be the greatest challenge facing the next pope, who will be elected as early as ...

Cardinals have wrapped up their pre-conclave meetings in the Vatican, trying to identify a possible new pontiff to follow ...

The conclave to pick a new pope begins May 7. Find a quick guide to that process, watch "Conclave" author Robert Harris ...

What the world’s Indigenous Catholics don’t want to lose with the death of the first pontiff from the Southern Hemisphere: ...

The United States is the home country for 10 of the 133 cardinals eligible to vote for the next pope, including Daniel ...

A rare adjustment has expanded the number of voting cardinals to 135, amplifying African representation in the selection of the next pope.

Jorge Bergoglio was 76 when he became Pope Francis. His predecessor, Joseph Ratzinger, was 78 when he became Pope Benedict ...

For most of the Catholic Church's first millennium, popes used their given names. The first exception was the 6th century ...