What happens during the interregnum period? Tom Reese, S.J., explains the time between one pope's death and the succession of the next pope.

What happens when a pope dies or resigns? Tom Reese, S.J., explains the steps in detail of what will occur at the Vatican after a pope's death.

Cardinal Becciu issued a statement the morning of April 29 saying, “I have decided to obey—as I have always done—the will of Pope Francis not to enter the conclave, while remaining convinced of my innocence.”

Cardinal Pietro Parolin told some 200,000 people in St. Peter’s Square that Pope Francis had made the message of God’s limitless mercy the heart of his pontificate.

“Pope Francis is the pope of the people,” Rosa de los Ríos told America in Spanish before the funeral Mass. “He is very close to the people.... That’s why he was so loved. People felt he was very close to them.”

Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re’s homily for the funeral of Pope Francis.

Universities need to change. But Trump is attacking the wrong problems.

We've collected some of our favorite analyses and remembrances of Francis’ papacy as a resource for Catholics mourning the church’s loss. 

Pope Francis trusted the imagination and regarded it as a gift from God. Instead of being suspicious and fearful of its power, he urged artists to follow its promptings.

I discovered that Catholicism could speak meaningfully to contemporary issues, that it could challenge power rather than embody it. I began to pay attention again.