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, ...

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.

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

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.

The Chicago-born pontiff is the first American to lead the Catholic Church, and while his positions on some of the church’s hot-button issues remain unclear, he has signaled continuity with his ...

U.S. President Donald Trump quickly reacted to the appointment of the first American pope on Thursday, May 8. Pope Leo XIV, formerly known as Cardinal Robert Prevost of Chicago, won the secretive conc ...

I haven’t encountered any American who didn’t experience one of those sentiments upon learning a U.S. citizen became the next pope.

Pope Francis put the Catholic Church on the side of the environmental movement by embracing science and our responsibility ...

the Catholic Church is looking to the future. The papal conclave is set to begin Wednesday afternoon in Rome, with 133 cardinal electors tasked with choosing Francis' successor. The question now t ...

ABC7's Liz Nagy spent almost two weeks reporting from the Vatican as the Catholic Church elected Pope Leo XIV as its next ...

In the 13th century, it took almost three years — 1,006 days to be exact — to choose Pope Clement IV's successor, making it the longest conclave in the Catholic Church’s history. It's also ...

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 ...