Cardinals, royals and heads of state attended. But many mourners, some of whom slept on the streets overnight, said they came for a pope who had cared for the poor and marginalized.
From “camerlengo” to white smoke, here’s what to know about the words and phrases that guide the process after a pope dies.
Efforts to fix the Vatican’s broken finances helped restore confidence among big givers. But the work isn’t finished.
Two of the five popes before Francis have become saints, but merely serving as pontiff is no longer a guarantee of canonization.
Many of the Catholics he counseled were much younger, but he made a habit of trying to meet them where they were.
The delay in issuing a statement reflected apparent tensions between Israel and Francis, who criticized Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza.
In One Image Prelude to a Funeral By Tomás Munita and Peter Robins The rituals of the Vatican can seem timeless, impervious to change. But look closer. The Swiss Guards accompanying Pope Francis on his final journey still wear the colors of the …
Three religious thinkers on the state of Catholicism.
Before mourners in their thousands gather in St. Peter’s Square to grieve, before leaders from around the world arrive to pay their respects, and long before cardinals cloister themselves to consider the future, the Vatican holds a small ceremony …
“Who am I to judge?” Pope Francis uttered those words in July 2013, just four and a half months into his papacy, when he was asked about gay priests, and the remark was greeted by some observers as a revelation and revolution. At long last, the Roman …
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