Francis-era reforms that saw a diverse group of cardinals join the mix make his successor nearly impossible to call.

The chimney on the Sistine Chapel is up, and voting to elect the next pope will begin on Wednesday afternoon, May 7. Here is ...

Experts say the process requires "two custom fireworks", smoke test rehearsals and Vatican firefighters on standby.

The College of Cardinals celebrated the ninth and final Novendiales Mass for Pope Francis on Sunday, May 4, the third Sunday of Easter.

The Vatican's Sistine Chapel has been prepared to host 133 Cardinal electors for the upcoming conclave to elect the 267th ...

Workers enter the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City on May 2 to install a stove and chimney to be used for the election of a new ...

When the papal conclave begins on Wednesday (May 7), the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church will enter a cloistered world ...

The meeting of the College of Cardinals, where the next head of the Catholic Church will be selected, is scheduled to take place on May 7 ...

From a realistic, picture-perfect painting to a captivating view of the chimney installation on top of the Sistine Chapel, ...

The universal church is on full display during the waiting-for-white-smoke period. Watchers who gather at St. Peter's Square ...

White smoke curled from a chimney over the Sistine Chapel at 7:06 p.m. on March 13, 2013. Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of ...

CITÉ DU VATICAN, Holy See (AFP) — Besides its masterpieces by Michelangelo, the Sistine Chapel is undergoing a makeover, ...