African outreach was among Pope Francis' legacies, observers say, with numerous visits and a message of mercy inspiring ...

On the eve of the conclave to elect the next pope, the world's smallest country, Vatican City, is engulfed in commotion as ...

As cardinals prepare for the largest papal conclave in history, battle lines are being drawn over the direction of the church ...

Hollywood and the media love intrigue. And the interregnum in the Catholic Church provides much fodder for an institution ...

Will the adage 'fat pope, thin pope' bear out as cardinals pick a successor to Pope Francis in the May 7 conclave?

First, those who embrace Pope Francis’ wide-ranging, modernising changes in the Catholic church. The reform-minded pope made ...

Cardinals electing a new pope have some fundamental questions to weigh, beyond whether to give the Catholic Church its first ...

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — If the next pope is from sub-Saharan Africa, he would be the first in Catholic Church history.

A rare adjustment has expanded the number of voting cardinals to 135, amplifying African representation in the selection of the next pope.

The African continent is home to one-fifth of the world's Catholics. Many are hoping the next pope will come from their ...

The church has never elected an African pope in its modern history. If it did, it would likely indicate a continuing trend of ...