The unvirginal hands of a gay man decorated the walls and ceilings the most famous church in the world: the Sistine Chapel.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Black smoke was pouring out of the Sistine Chapel chimney, indicating no pope was elected on the first ballot of the conclave to choose a new leader of the Catholic Church.

The Chicago-born pontiff is the first American to lead the Catholic Church, and while his positions on some of the church’s hot-button issues remain unclear, he has signaled continuity with his ...

With all the pomp, drama and solemnity that the Catholic Church can muster, 133 Catholic cardinals are beginning the secretive, centuries-old ritual to elect a new pope, opening the most ...

VATICAN CITY (AP) — White smoke poured from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel and the great bells of St. Peter’s Basilica tolled Thursday after cardinals elected the 267th pope to lead the Catholic ...

The Sistine Chapel has witnessed every papal election ... crucial decisions that have marked the millennia-long life of the Church. Its symbolic proximity to the site of St. Peter’s martyrdom ...

Before the doors were shut, leaders of the Catholic church from over 70 countries – the largest conclave in history — filed into the 15th century Sistine Chapel and — wearing robes from ...

More than 130 Catholic cardinals on Wednesday began the secretive, centuries-old ritual to elect a successor to Pope Francis, opening the most geographically diverse conclave in ...

VATICAN CITY — On Wednesday afternoon, red-hatted clerics who carry the same weight and dignity as princes within the Catholic Church entered the Sistine Chapel for the papal conclave to choose ...

the eyes of the world are on the Sistine Chapel, which will hold the Catholic cardinals as they cast their votes for the next leader of the Church. The renowned Sistine Chapel is a chapel within ...

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Black smoke was pouring out of the Sistine Chapel chimney, indicating no pope was elected on the first ballot of the conclave to choose a new leader of the Catholic Church.

Crowds in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City erupted in cheers as white smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel just ... for the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church to emerge onto the red-draped ...