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, ...

On the second day of the conclave at the Vatican, the cardinal electors chose Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Prevost as the new pope, Leo XIV.

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.

Catholic cardinals are gathering at the Vatican to elect the successor to Pope Francis, who died on April 21. Voting will take place in the Sistine Chapel, with ballots continuing in succession until ...

Smoke signals have occurred at mid-morning, noon, mid-afternoon and evening. The longest conclave took three years.

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

The first ballot will be cast Wednesday evening (Vatican time), May 7, according to Vatican News. Voting will then happen four times daily over the following days, twice in the morning and twice in ...

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.

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

In the 13th century, it took almost three years — 1,006 days to be exact — to choose Pope Clement IV's successor, making it the longest conclave in the Catholic Church’s history. It's also ...