Visit this page for America's latest news and commentary on Pope Francis, the first Jesuit to be elected pope. Last updated: April 5, 2013.FeaturesA Bishop Embraced by Rome, Matt Malone, S.J. (April 1 Issue)Building Bridges, Ambassador Miguel H. Díaz (April 1 Issue)Silence and Service

The following was sent to Jesuits around the world nbsp Since it has already been released to the media I am reprinting it here STATEMENT OF THE SUPERIOR GENERAL OF THE SOCIETY OF JESUSIn the name of the Society of Jesus I give thanks to God for the election of our new Pope Cardinal Jorge Mario

We live in an age of online dating Having done most of my own courting before the French Revolution mdash I gave it up when pantaloons went out of style Why pursue romance without panache mdash I rsquo m reluctant to opine on the surety of this new approach but I would note one novelty of we

Papa Francisco cuts a different figure taking the bus with the cardinals back to the Vatican guesthouse after being elected pontiff Wednesday so he could collect his belongings and pay his hotel bill to set an example for other clergy see the report nbsp by Catherine Harmon of the National Catho

Our good new Pope inspires both joyful and anxious hope in reform minded Catholics

Good day from Rome the first day of the pontificate of Pope Francis It rsquo s a very ordinary Thursday here one would never know that a little less than 24 hours ago the city was a frenzy of tears cheers smiles and prayers The rain fell hard last night as what seemed like half of Italy made

From The Jesuit Guide to Almost Anything They invented the trap door Without the Jesuits who wrote and directed plays in their 16th and 17th-century schools modern theater mdash and film mdash would be vastly different To take one example the Wicked Witch of the West wouldn 39 t have been able

ldquo Papa Pancho rdquo that rsquo s what his fellow Argentines are already calling Pope Francis ldquo Pancho rdquo is the Spanish diminutive for Francis Francis of course was originally a nickname of sorts too meaning ldquo Frenchie rdquo for Saint Francis rsquo s father 39 s trading

Como se ve, no luzco el título de “cardenal” delante de mi nombre y, por tanto, no tendré derecho a voto en el inminente cónclave. Sin embargo, como a todo católico sensibilizado, me sobran las ideas sobre cómo tendría que ser el nuevo papa y sobre las cosas que debería hacer.No e

El Espíritu Santo no sólo asiste a los cardenales cuando van a elegir a un nuevo papa, sino que alienta también en las esperanzas y en los anhelos de todo el pueblo de Dios. La Iglesia está llamada a estar siempre muy atenta al Espíritu que late tanto en la jerarquía como entre los laicos. Est

Vatican Insider at La Stampa has some of the most substantial coverage of Cardinal Bergoglio 39 s more provocative speeches in the past few years nbsp It also has a very frank interview with him from the most recent consistory nbsp All are worth reading nbsp I excerpt some highlights below U

nbsp Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio 76 was elected the 266th pope and took the name Francis The election March 13 came on the first full day of the conclave on the conclave 39 s fifth ballot It was a surprisingly quick conclusion to a conclave that began with many plausible candidates

Pray for this Francis here rsquo s some of what faces him White smoke reported at 7 05 p m in Rome 2 05 p m Eastern Daylight Time They have we have a new pope My Pope Alarm application delivered 15 minutes later at 2 20 Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina archbishop of Buenos Aire

Habemus papam we 39 ll know who exactly in 40 minutes or so Watch ABC news to hear commentary from our own James Martin S J Here is the story from CNS VATICAN CITY CNS -- To the delighted surprise of many clouds of white smoke poured from the chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel March

While the world ponders smoke signals from Rome the happy wonky warriors at the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life have taken it upon themselves to prevent the mood among the world 39 s Catholics from getting too giddy Recent releases from Pew researchers have detailed the things about the chu

In addition to Father Matt Malone's report from Rome yesterday, we have posted two additional videos to our YouTube channel from Rome. Here they are.

This guest blog comes from Christopher Hale co-founder of Millennial a digital journal that is dedicated to lifting up the voices of young Catholic intellectuals in the public sphere You can follow him on Twitter chrisjollyhale As the cardinal-electors meet this week in Rome to elect the next Su

It is a bit after Roman 13:00 on Day 2 of the Papal Conclave of 2013. As you undoubtedly know, both ballots were burned at approximately 11:40 a.m. local time (some commentators think that the smoke coming twenty minutes earlier than expected meant something; I am not convinced that there’s a ‘there’ there. And if there were, how could we possibly know what it is?) In any event, the smoke was black. Really black. It is difficult to see on television, but I can attest to the fact that the smoke is, indeed, quite dark and thick; it looks as if the Sistine Chapel is on fire. Saint Peter’s Square was not packed for the billows, owing mainly to the rain and the remote probability that this morning’s smoke would be white. Even the election of Joseph Ratzinger in 2005 took until the afternoon of the second day and most of the cardinals knew going into the conclave that Ratzinger was the man to beat.

I have received a number of your questions via Twitter Thanks for sending sending them in We will get to as many of them as we can in the days ahead You can send your questions to americaeditor Among our questions today nbsp ldquo How many non-cardinals are in the Sistine Chapel during the vot