Catholic Church

When media report pope red smoke , they are referencing one part of a controlled signaling system used during a papal conclave. Black smoke (fumata nera) signals that a pope has...

When people ask about American candidates for pope, they are usually asking which American cardinals are considered papabile and how a conclave actually chooses a successor to P...

Cardinals who are eligible to vote in a papal conclave, often described as the pool cardinals up for pope , are appointed by the reigning pope and must be under age 80 at the op...

Only bishops can be pope, and any baptized Catholic male can theoretically be elected pope, yet in practice every pope since 1917 has been a cardinal who meets specific criteria...

A new pope is elected by the College of Cardinals during a papal conclave, a process governed by established canon law and centuries of tradition. When the see of Rome becomes v...

As of mid-2025, the pope is Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was elected on 13 March 2013 and continues in office; no successor has been n...

As of 2025, the reigning pope is Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was elected on 13 March 2013 and remains the leader of the Roman Catholi...

Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in 1936, combines traditional Catholic doctrine with reformist pastoral priorities, producing a mixed record that reads both progressive...