Nation & World

Cardinals process at the beginning of the Mass on the nine days of official mourning for Pope Francis, at the Altar of the Confession in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican May 4, 2025. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)
At final memorial Mass, Pope Francis remembered as tireless shepherd 
Workers on scaffolding May 2, 2025, attach the stove pipe to the stove that will be used to burn ballots during the conclave to elect a new pope in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican. Cardinals under the age of 80 will enter the conclave May 7. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
Creation, Last Judgment, stoves: Workers ready Sistine Chapel for conclave 
White smoke rises from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on March 13, 2013, at the Vatican, signaling that Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who became Pope Francis, was elected the 266th Roman Catholic pontiff. The cardinals will meet again on May 7, 2025, to elect a successor to Pope Francis, who died April 21. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
Where – and when – to watch for white smoke
Cardinals Luis José Rueda Aparicio of Bogotá, Colombia, left, and Rubén Salazar Gómez of Bogotá, right, approach the Petriano entrance of the Vatican next to St. Peter's Square to attend the seventh general congregation meeting of cardinals April 30, 2025. (CNS photo/Kendall McLaren)
Cardinals approve electors for conclave, formally ask for prayers
Then-Washington Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory leads a special liturgy in renewing the consecration of the U.S. to the care of our Blessed Mother at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington May 1, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. (OSV News photo/Tyler Orsburn)
May 1 marks 5th anniversary of consecrating US to Mary as COVID declared a pandemic
The conclave to elect a new pope, scheduled to begin May 7, is governed by two texts: a rule book and a prayer book.
How the conclave works: It's guided by a rule book and a prayer book
A close-up shows Cardinal Baldassare Reina, papal vicar of Rome, with his hands folded in prayer during the Mass on the third day of the "novendiali," nine days of mourning for Pope Francis, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican April 28, 2025. The Pontifical Missions Societies USA is inviting faithful to pray for a specific cardinal elector who will vote for the next pope in the conclave that begins in Rome May 7, 2025. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)
Conclave prayer campaign for cardinals seeks to put 'faith into action'
Benedictine Abbot Donato Ogliari, abbot of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, center, offered a spiritual meditation April 29, 2025, in the Vatican synod hall to cardinals attending the general congregation before the conclave begins. The abbot is seated between Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, and Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
Build communion with diversity, abbot tells cardinals before conclave
A group of pilgrims from Quito, Ecuador, poses for a picture as they approach St. Peter's Square during the Jubilee of Teenagers at the Vatican April 27, 2025. (CNS photo/Justin McLellan)
At Jubilee of Teenagers, grief is mingled with joyful hope for church's future
Members of the College of Cardinals pray at the tomb of Pope Francis and attend vespers at the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome April 27, 2025. Cardinals and the faithful visited the Marian basilica to offer their prayers and respects. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)
Cardinals, faithful flock to Rome's center to pray at pope's tomb
Cardinal Anders Arborelius of Stockholm and Lutheran Archbishop Antje Jackelen of Uppsala, primate of the Church of Sweden, present Pope Francis with an icon of St. Francis of Assisi following the pope's general audience June 14, 2017, at the Vatican. The artist, Lars Gerdmar, held the icon during the presentation of the gift, which was an expression of gratitude for Pope Francis' visit to Sweden last October. Pope Francis, formerly Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, died April 21, 2025, at age 88. (
How Pope Francis drew inspiration from his namesake's vision, actions
Undated illustrations of St. Thérèse of Lisieux and St. Teresa of Avila are pictured in a combination photo. St. Thérèse of Lisieux is the patron of missionaries and missions and St. Teresa of Avila was mystic and founder of the Discalced Carmelites, and the first female declared to be a doctor of the church. (OSV News files/Nancy Phelan Wiechec/Crosiers)
The Little Flower and the Great Doctor: Àvila, Lisieux to hold events commemorating Carmelite saints
Pope Francis embraces a young person while greeting visitors as he rides the popemobile around St. Peter’s Square before his weekly general audience at the Vatican Nov. 27, 2024. Pope Francis, formerly Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, died April 21, 2025, at age 88. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)
'The young pope': Pope Francis' legacy with young people
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, center, leads cardinals in prayer during their first general congregation April 22, 2025, in the Vatican Synod Hall. To Cardinal Re's left is U.S. Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church, and to the left is Archbishop Ilson Montanari, secretary of the College of Cardinals. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
Top contenders for papacy after Francis
Kurt Martens, a professor of canon law at The Catholic University of America in Washington, talks to Catholic News Service in Rome about the rules governing a conclave to elect a new pope March 12, 2025. (CNS photo/Robert Duncan)
Real conclaves: They aren't the thrillers seen in film, professor says
Pallbearers carry the body of Pope Francis in an open casket during the procession into St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican April 23, 2025. The pope will lie in the basilica for public viewing and prayer for three days before his funeral Mass April 26, 2025. (CNS photo/Paolo Galosi, pool)
Prayer, pilgrims accompany pope's body to basilica
People stand in line outside the Vatican to pay their respects to Pope Francis, lying in state in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican April 23, 2025. Public viewing was to continue until April 25, the night before the late pope's funeral. (CNS photo/Pablo Esparza)
More than 19,000 people pay homage to pope in first nine hours
Pope Francis speaks to people who find themselves in a situation of economic hardship at the house of the Missionaries of Charity in Marseille, France, Sept. 23, 2023. Pope Francis, formerly Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, died April 21, 2025, at age 88. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)
Pope Francis called for the economy to heed -- not kill -- 'the cry of the poor'
Cardinal Kevin Farrell, "camerlengo" or chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church, announced the death of Pope Francis from the Domus Sanctae Marthae, where the pope lived, at the Vatican April 21, 2025. Standing with him are Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state; Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, substitute for general affairs of the Secretariat of State; and Archbishop Diego Ravelli, master of papal liturgical ceremonies. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
US cardinal announces pope's death to the world
Pope Francis greets an elderly woman as he meets with people of the Banado Norte neighborhood in the Chapel of St. John the Baptist in Asuncion, Paraguay, July 12, 2015. Pope Francis, formerly Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, died April 21, 2025, at age 88. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
Author: Francis, 'the pope of tenderness,' had 'a heart operating' on God's frequency
Pope Francis speaks during a Sept. 12, 2020, meeting with members of the "Laudato Si'" Communities in the Paul VI audience hall at the Vatican. "Everything is interconnected," Pope Francis said in the encyclical, "Laudato Si', on Care for our Common Home." Pope Francis, formerly Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, died April 21, 2025, at age 88. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
Pope Francis lived up to his namesake's love, care for creation
Pope Francis greets visitors as he rides the popemobile around St. Peter's Square before his weekly general audience at the Vatican Nov. 27, 2024. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)
Pope Francis dies at 88
Pope Francis talks with Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services during his general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Oct. 23, 2019. Pope Francis, formally Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, died April 21, 2025, at age 88. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
US bishops honor Pope Francis' legacy in hours after his death
Pope Francis
Pope's funeral rites, a celebration of hope, to begin late April 21
Pope Francis leads his general audience in Paul VI hall at the Vatican. (CNS photo/Paul Haring) Oct. 21, 2020.
Pope Francis has died. Here’s what happens next.
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