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 pontiff at the conclave.

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, ...

It's also where the term conclave comes from — "under lock and key," because the cardinals who were meeting in Viterbo, north of Rome, took so long the town's frustrated citizens locked them in ...

Two cardinals, Michael Czerny and Chibly Langlois, sat down with ABC News to discuss the challenges facing the church that the new pope will have to face.

Intrigue, fashion, humility, faith—133 cardinal electors have descended on Rome to choose a new pope and their every move and ...

With all the pomp, drama and solemnity that the Catholic Church can muster, 133 cardinals on Wednesday begin the secretive, centuries-old ritual to elect a successor to Pope Francis, opening the most ...

Israeli military strikes killed at least 20 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, including a local journalist and a ...

Cardinals in the secret conclave are set for another round of discussions on Thursday after failing to select the next pope on the first day of voting. Black smoke has poured from the Sistine ...

The pilgrims have sung sacred hymns, while the journalists try to corner cardinals for clues about their papal preferences. Sponsor Message The conclave was set in motion by the death of Pope ...

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — As cardinals left their final meeting before the conclave begins, they expressed confidence in their time of listening and prayer, and some predicted a relatively quick ...

The Catholic cardinals meeting for the conclave are locked in the Sistine Chapel — one of the grandest buildings in the Western world. But their meals are decidedly less elegant. The food at the ...