Choosing Pope Francis' successor is a mix of tradition and necessity. There have been 266 popes in the Catholic Church's roughly 2,000-year history, which spans three millennia. With the death of ...

Update: American Cardinal Robert Prevost has been chosen as the new pope and took the name Leo XIV — the first pope in history from the United States. Pope Francis' death on April 21 ...

Numerous sarcophagi have also been found in the necropolis. The body of Pope Formosus, who had been dead for about seven months, was famously exhumed for a posthumous trial in 897. In a papal ...

Pope Leo XIV has warned of the dangers of reducing Jesus to a charismatic leader figure while leading his first mass as pontiff. He spoke a few words in English at the start of the service.

Francis, a Jesuit from Argentina who died in the early hours of April 21 at age 88, after 12 years as leader of the Roman Catholic Church, was the first non-European pope in nearly 1,300 years.

The former pontiff had been elected in 2013, succeeding Pope Benedict XVI, who became the first pope in 600 years to willingly step down. Pope Francis’ tenure signified a new leaf for the ...

By Elisabetta Povoledo Jason Horowitz and Emma Bubola Reporting from Rome and Vatican City The death of Pope Francis last month at the age of 88 set off grief and mourning around the world ...

Pope Francis‘ death called for a day of mourning on April 21, 2025, and his funeral on April 26. The late pontiff died just hours after he delivered his yearly Easter prayer and meeting with ...

Sixteen days after the reign of Pope Francis ended with his death on Easter Monday, the Catholic Church is looking to the future. The papal conclave got underway Wednesday afternoon in Rome ...

Pope Francis' death on April 21, the day after Easter Sunday, started off a series of traditions that will soon culminate in a vote for the next pope. His successor will be decided by the Catholic ...

4 a.m. May , 2025: This story was updated with new information. VATICAN CITY — Predict who the next pope will be at your peril. An old Italian saying warns against putting faith, or money ...