While the Vatican has detailed laws and rituals to ensure the transfer of power when a pope dies or resigns, they do not ...

Pope Francis' doctors "are prudently maintaining their cautious prognosis" as the pontiff's condition of respiratory and ...

Worry over Pope Francis' health has fueled speculation as to who could replace the pontiff if his condition worsens.

The wet black cobblestones shone from the bright lights illuminating the fountains and the front of the square where Pope Francis normally sits for his Wednesday general audiences. An image of Mater ...

Pope Francis spends “a peaceful night” at Rome‘s Gemelli Hospital and has breakfast while sitting in an armchair on Thursday ...

Despite the concerns, the statement said that Francis was still alert and out of bed. “The Holy Father continues to be vigilant and spent the day in his armchair even if he was more in pain than ...

Doctors say the pope's health situation is complicated because he had part of his lung removed in his 20s. Currently, his ...

Time-honored rituals, drafted and refined over centuries, allow for ritual mourning and provide order at a dramatic moment of ...

A scholar of global Catholicism writes how Francis has opened the church to the outside world in ways no pope had done before ...

L.A. Catholics have been offering prayers for the ailing Holy Father, including special daily prayers in parishes throughout ...

Upon the resignation or death of a pope, a group of clergy members known as the College of Cardinals would be called to ...

I’m a historian of the medieval papacy and editor of the forthcoming three volumes of “The Cambridge History of the Papacy.” So it was more or less mandatory for me to see the new movie “Conclave,” ...