Follow Pope Francis’ trip to the United States HERE. By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis said that “as things got dangerous” in the conclave voting, he was sitting next to his “great friend,” Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes “who comforted me.” When the former Cardinal …

By John Stegeman The Catholic Telegraph Pope Benedict XVI made history by becoming the first pope to send a tweet, and again by becoming the first pope to officially join Twitter. Pope Francis, already fast becoming known as a pope of the people, has now followed in those footsteps. The …

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service  VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis is “a Jesuit’s Jesuit” who understands the importance of St. Francis of Assisi in the life of St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus, said the Jesuits’ secretary for the promotion of the faith. U.S. …

See most recent stories on the pope and the Catholic Church here By John Stegeman The Catholic Telegraph Memes, almost by their very nature, are modern. The world means “a cultural item that is transmitted by repetition in a manner analogous to the biological transmission of genes” but as we’ve reported …

Staff Report The Catholic Telegraph The new pope is His Holiness Pope Francis. He is the first to take that name. Read more about Pope Francis: Following Benedict’s footsteps, Pope Francis joins Twitter The top 5 Pope Francis memes Getting to know Pope Francis World offers words of hope, joy …

This period of sede vacante will end sooner rather than later as 115 cardinal electors in Rome are now in a conclave where in a spirit of prayer and discernment they will select the next pope. Refresh this page often for continuing updates of news related to the conclave and …

By Greg Hartman & John Stegeman The Catholic Telegraph  The conclave starts Tuesday, and a more detailed schedule of the events has become available. Here is a guide to what happens now, before, during and after the conclave. All times listed are Rome local time with Eastern Daylight Time listed …

By Francis X. Rocca Catholic News Service  VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Like the rest of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics, including the 5,100 bishops and 412,000 priests, the pope exercises what the Catechism of the Catholic Church calls his “baptismal priesthood” by participating in “Christ’s mission as priest, prophet and …

UPDATE FROM CNS: Voting for new pope to begin March 12 By Francis X. Rocca Catholic News Service  VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Cardinal electors assembled in Rome will begin voting for the next pope March 12. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, announced the date for the start of …

By Carol Zimmermann Catholic News Service  VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Everyone is curious about the cardinals. As they arrive for their daily meetings or general congregations at the Vatican before the conclave, reporters and photographers are on the scene, often behind a barricade but sometimes literally chasing the cardinals with …