As a fireworks expert tests the Vatican's contemporary system for "holy smoke," Catholic cardinals mull their divergent priorities for Pope Francis' successor.

The Catholic church faces a fundamental question as it prepares to elect a new pope. That is, whether to go back to a monarchical papacy with its pomp and pageantry, or to build on the momentum begun ...

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa is a Vatican outsider, but his experience in a region sacred to three major religions may ...

As the Catholic Church mourns the death of Pope Francis and its all-male College of Cardinals prepares to elect his successor, an accidental email sent last month captured the contradictions at the ...

Four frontrunners have emerged as the most likely contenders known as papabile to succeed Pope Francis but at least a dozen ...

Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle is sometimes called the "Asian Francis" because of his infectious smile, easy laugh, and ...

A cardinal (from the Latin "cardinalis" or principal) is a high dignitary of the Catholic Church chosen by the pope to assist ...

Catholic cardinals will enter into conclave this week to choose a new pope, with the Church's 1.4 billion members holding ...

As cardinals prepare for the largest papal conclave in history, battle lines are being drawn over the direction of the church ...

With conclave set for May 7, Church scholars say successor to Francis must balance legacy, heal rifts between reformists and ...

The head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, has died. We take a look at his legacy and how the church will choose the next ...

In a New York Times story about the late Pope Francis’s relationship with Catholic conservatives, Michael Hichborn, president ...