The death of a pope starts a centuries-old ritual involving sacred oaths by the cardinals electing a successor, the piercing of ballots with a needle and thread after they're...

The death of a pope sets in motion a series of carefully orchestrated rites and rituals well before the conclave to elect his successor begins. They involve the certification of death and public...

Pope Francis died Monday, the Vatican announced, history's first Latin American pontiff who charmed the world with his humble style and concern for the poor but alienated conservatives with...

Key events in the life of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who became Pope Francis and died on Monday: Dec. 17, 1936: Jorge Mario Bergoglio is born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the eldest of five...

Pope Francis died Monday morning, Cardinal Kevin Ferrell, the Vatican camerlengo, announced. "At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father. His entire...

Pope Francis emerged from his convalescence on Easter Sunday to bless the thousands of people in St. Peter's Square and treat them to a surprise popemobile romp through the piazza, drawing wild...

Journalist Ksenia Lutskina served only half of her eight-year prison sentence in Belarus after being convicted of conspiracy to overthrow the government. She was pardoned after she kept fainting...

Thousands of trans rights protesters gathered in central London on Saturday, days after the U.K.'s Supreme Court ruled that a woman is someone born biologically female and that transgender...

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a temporary Easter ceasefire in Ukraine starting Saturday, citing humanitarian reasons, as Russia and Ukraine swapped hundreds of captured soldiers in...

For more than 400 years, Catholic and Orthodox churches have used different ways to determine the date of Easter. But this Sunday will mark a special moment for Christians, as the churches celebrate...