The conclave that begins next Wednesday to elect a successor for Pope Francis is the first in 46 ½ years for which the Vatican hasn’t ordered a set of cassocks from the two best-known papal tailors.

Papabile: How do conclave watchers come up with their lists of the next pope—and should we trust them?

The people of God see the bishop of Rome as a teacher, but they also unquestionably see him as a father.

Since the death of Pope Francis, lists of his possible successors have proliferated on social media and in newspapers. Should you trust them?

In a pre-conclave meeting, an Italian cardinal, and backer of Cardinal Parolin as next pope, attacked Pope Francis for opening positions of responsibility in the church to men and women not in holy orders.

As we prepare for a new papacy, an important question faces the church: What foundations do we inherit from Pope Francis’ bold reimagining of Catholic moral theology? How will the church carry forward the vision he nurtured—a vision both thoroughly traditional and courageously new?

Somehow, incredibly, this celibate, elderly man often doled out some of the best and most valuable parenting advice I’ve received along the way.

America’s editors on the ground in Rome discuss the latest conclave news and the work that remain for whoever is elected as Pope Francis’ successor.

Much of what you hear about who the next pope will be, spoken with enormous confidence by people in the know, is often completely contradictory.