News

Black Smoke, White Smoke: How the Vatican Tells the World There’s a New Pope
In a tradition that scholars date to the 19th century, smoke released from a chimney will be colored white if the cardinals ...
Seagulls steal the show on papal conclave livestream. Viewers (and cats) love it.
Since livestream cameras went up early Wednesday morning, a handful of seagulls have hopped around the Sistine Chapel chimney ...
The Latest: Catholic cardinals to sequester themselves in the Vatican for the start of the conclave
The 133 cardinals from 70 countries will be locked inside the Sistine Chapel, where they will vote in secret and silence, a ...
It's conclave time—and frugality is in, extravagance is out
Intrigue, fashion, humility, faith—133 cardinal electors have descended on Rome to choose a new pope and their every move and ...
The elite Swiss Guard watching over conclave have a dramatic role as papal bodyguards
The Swiss Guard, the pope’s iconic bodyguards, look ceremonial but in the pageantry of the Renaissance-style uniform lies the ...
Catholic Philly2h
As Conclave Begins, it’s Business as Usual at the Vatican … Sort of
As the conclave dominates conversation in Rome—from morning espresso speculation to taxi driver frustrations—tourists ...
What time does the conclave start? See the schedule for May 7
The conclave officially commences Wednesday, May 7 at 4 a.m. ET (10 a.m. in Rome) with a mass in Saint Peter's Basilica. The ...
Ahead of the conclave, Vatican staff vow secrecy under threat of excommunication
Cleaners and cooks. Doctors and nurses. Even drivers and elevator operators. The support staff for the cardinals who will ...