Papal conclaves have featured calls of election fraud and bribery so gauche that riches were wheeled in on donkey carts.

The Sistine Chapel, with its awe-inspiring Renaissance frescoes, is a majestic stage for the Catholic Church’s most sacred ritual: the election of a new pope. But beneath the sacred decor, conclaves ...

Explore the history of papal conclaves, from the longest and shortest elections to how we'll know when a new pope is chosen.

Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Filipino cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle are among the favourites to succeed Pope Francis ...

The drama and intrigue of a modern papal election can be movie-worthy, but the level of skulduggery these days is modest ...

Intelligence agencies have long gathered information to help their governments get a sense of who the next pope might be ...

Papal conclaves don’t just elect the next pope — they mark turning points in the history of the Catholic Church and, often, ...

Although some historical conclaves have lasted as long as three years, many experts predict that the Catholic church could ...

Throughout the 20th century, only two conclaves lasted up to five days − Pope Pius X's election in 1903 and Pope Pius XI's ...

White smoke billowed from the chimney at the Sistine Chapel Thursday, signaling the election of a new Pope to lead the Roman ...

In case you were wondering if this concern was a new one, the second issue ever of America featured an editorial on papal conclaves in which the editors argued (wait for it) that Austria ...