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, ...

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.

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.

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

As with any new papacy, a quick look at their first appointments and audiences inside the system offers at least a small ...

The papal conclave, the secretive election process to elect the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church, commenced on Wednesday.

ABC7's Liz Nagy spent almost two weeks reporting from the Vatican as the Catholic Church elected Pope Leo XIV as its next leader. Nagy and an ABC7 crew were sent out to cover the papal conclave. They ...

Pope Francis, who presided over the Roman Catholic Church and its estimated 1.4 billion followers for 12 years, died April 21 ...

Papal conclave ballots have been burned to maintain secrecy for centuries. Ballot smoke has been used to announce a decision since 1914.

Pope Leo XIV asked Sunday for prayers for China’s Catholics to be in communion with the Holy See, as he made his first public ...

At one level, it's going to be really helpful because the name he chose, Leo XIV, is important. He has been very clear about ...