At the end of a pope's reign, a secret vote takes place at the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, Rome. Here is the election ...

Any male baptized in the Roman Catholic church is eligible to serve as pope. The conclave is highly secretive, and the candidates do not publicly campaign for the position. The pope is the leader ...

Like his predecessors, Pope Francis was selected using an age-old method — a system known as the Papal conclave.

It was the first full meeting of France’s Roman Catholic hierarchy since 1907, when vigorous anticlericalism had placed the church on the defensive, deprived it of state support. Today ...