When Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was elected in 2013 as Pope Francis, he was a near total Vatican outsider. He had never been a ...

Pope Francis, Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI are among the elected bishops of Rome who have led the Catholic Church ...

The church is divided. The problem is to find the one who unites, not pretend that it isn’t divided,” one church historian ...

A Black pope would make a profound statement — not just in the United States, where President Donald Trump has demonized ...

Pope Benedict was an ardent defender of Catholic traditions. Pope Francis, who died Monday, chose a more liberal direction.

The leader of the world’s 1 billion Roman Catholics addressed past scandals and embraced migrants, the poor and gay and ...

Some people said the pope's compassion inspired them. Others said he was too liberal or that no pope would affect how they ...

The late pontiff’s health concerns in recent years led to contenders to succeed him foreseeing a papabile ahead of his death ...

VATICAN CITY – An Italian cardinal who was convicted of embezzlement and fraud said on April 29 he will not take part in the secret conclave to elect the new pope that will be held beginning on May 7 ...

Three of the youngest cardinals who will take part in the Conclave: Americo Manuel (51), from Portugal; Cardenal Mykola (45), ...

Some see the byword as a rallying call in a conservative campaign to reverse Francis’ push for a more inclusive church.

Cardinals are high-ranking officials of the Catholic Church whose main duties include advising, governing the Roman Curia, ...