Live updates and latest news as the first North American pope steps into his role as the new leader of the Catholic Church.

Plumes of white smoke streaming from a Sistine Chapel chimney Thursday signaled that a new leader of the Roman Catholic ...

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

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

A prominent Catholic newspaper is among those suggesting Pope Leo XIV may be the first Black pontiff in the Catholic Church’s ...

Catholic Church approaches pivotal conclave with 3 African cardinals among leading pope candidates, reflecting shifting ...

First, those who embrace Pope Francis’ wide-ranging, modernising changes in the Catholic church. The reform-minded pope made it possible to advance a new church culture that respected the voice and ...

Catholic leaders across Africa are expressing excitement at the election of the first American as Pope Leo XIV.

Omokri also questioned the credibility of oft-cited historical claims of African Popes—such as Pope Victor I, Miltiades, and ...

With at least three African cardinals in the running to become the next Pope, African Catholics are excited, but remain ...

One in 5 of the world’s Catholics now live in Africa, and African cardinals will be key in determining Francis’s successor at ...

“The future of the Catholic church passes through Africa,” Ilo said. “The continent is a spiritual powerhouse.” The very fact that observers are considering that the next pope could be ...