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Orthodox patriarch to Rome for pope's installation
Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, will attend Pope Francis' installation Mass — the first time a patriarch from ...
Zimbabwe president arrives in Rome for papal mass
State radio in Zimbabwe says President Robert Mugabe has arrived in Rome for the inaugural mass of newly-elected Pope Francis. Mugabe is the subject ...
Pope wades into crowds, surprising onlookers
Walking up to crowds, shaking hands with surprised bystanders in the street, mixing his formal speeches with off-the-cuff remarks, Pope Francis ...
St. Peter's Square springs to life with new pope
You don't need to be Catholic to be awe-struck by the majesty of St. Peter's Square, which becomes the stage for the world during times of papal ...
Argentina: Boot camp for a politically savvy pope
Pope Francis has honed his leadership skills in one of the most difficult classrooms on the planet: Argentina, where politics has long been a blood ...
Slow changes: A stroll through 4 papacies
In one of his last major public appearances before his death, Pope Paul VI sat on a throne atop a platform carried on the shoulders of 12 men as he ...
US clergy victims make demands of new pope
Most Roman Catholics are rejoicing at the election of Pope Francis, but alleged victims of clergy abuse in the U.S. are demanding swift and bold ...
Pope Francis reaches out to Jews
Like his predecessor, Pope Francis reached out to Rome's Jewish community at the very start of his pontificate, pledging to continue to strengthen the ...
Argentines celebrate Francis as their 'slum pope'
For more than a billion Roman Catholics worldwide, he's Pope Francis. For Argentina's poorest citizens, crowded in "misery villages" throughout the ...
New pope's views bind simplicity with 'complexity'
At gatherings of Latin American bishops, then-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was often a star speaker about economic inequities in a profit-driven world.
The Jesuits, veterans of tense times with Vatican
While the Vatican has picked the highly disciplined Jesuits as advance men for planning papal pilgrimages and to run its worldwide broadcasting ...
Pope Francis: Simple image, complex past
On the streets in Buenos Aires, the stories about the cardinal who would become the first pope from the Americas often include a very ordinary ...
Pope captivates crowds with 1st words about peace
Before they even saw his face, Pope Francis had already won over the Roman masses. The announcement that he would be known by the same name as St.
POPE LIVE: Around the world as a new pope emerges
"Pope Live" follows the choice of the new pope as seen by journalists from The Associated Press around the world. It will be updated throughout the ...
First steps on becoming a pope
The pomp surrounding his selection was just the beginning of an exceptionally busy few days for Pope Francis. A look at the first night — and what ...
New pope is 1st Francis, saint of peace, poverty
In choosing a name no other pope had ever taken, Pope Francis could be signaling that he sees the need for change in the Roman Catholic church.
Popes of the 20th and 21st centuries
Pope Francis — March 13, 2013- Benedict XVI — April 19, 2005-Feb. 28, 2013. John Paul II — Oct. 16, 1978-April 2, 2005. John Paul I — Aug. 26-Sept.
Black smoke from chapel chimney: No pope yet
This time there was no doubt. There was no new pope yet, and the mystery of who — and when — was as thick as the unmistakable heavy black smoke ...
O'Malley, the 'cappuccino priest,' a hit in Rome
The archbishop of Boston, dressed more often in the humble brown robe of his religious order than a cardinal's regalia, has emerged as an unlikely ...
Papal names are rich with meaning
What's in a name? A lot if you are the next pope. Every time a new pontiff is chosen in a conclave, a senior cardinal goes up to him and asks: "And ...
The choreographed election of a pope in a nutshell
The election of a pope follows a series of choreographed rules and rituals that have been tweaked over the centuries ever since the term "conclave" ...
The oath sworn by cardinals before papal vote
Before cardinals start voting for a new pope, they will swear an oath of secrecy in the Sistine Chapel. It will be administered by Cardinal Giovanni ...
How the conclaves fared in the past century
Over the past century, no conclave has lasted more than five days and the fastest vote was for Pope Pius XII. Twice prelates from North America missed ...
Conclave cardinals by continent
In the papal conclave that begins Tuesday, 115 cardinals will elect the next pope. All of them were created either by Benedict XVI or Pope John Paul ...