The issue of women within the church is a controversial one. The late Pope Francis broke ground by appointing more women to top positions within the Vatican. But he disappointed campaigners and equality supporters by putting off the ordination of women to ...

Pope Leo XIV called for a genuine and just peace in Ukraine and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, in his first Sunday noon blessing as pontiff that featured some symbolic gestures suggesting a message of unity in a polarized Catholic Church.

Pope Leo XIV, the first American leader of the Catholic Church, called for peace in Gaza and Ukraine at his inaugural mass.

Swiss Guards march after a new Pope was elected when 133 cardinals gathered on the second day of the conclave to select a successor to the late Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Catholic cardinals from around the world gathered in the Vatican on Wednesday for the start of the conclave, the centuries-old secret voting ritual to elect a new pope to follow Pope Francis, who died April 21.

The proceedings will take place in absolute secrecy, with the prelates largely sequestered from the outside world for as long as the conclave lasts until a new Supreme Pontiff is chosen.

Cardinal Robert Prevost, an American missionary who spent his career ministering in Peru and leads the Vatican’s powerful office of bishops, was elected the first U.S. pope in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church.

Pope Leo XIV vowed Sunday to work for unity in a polarized Catholic Church and world, as history's first American pope offered a message of healing during an inaugural Mass in St. Peter’s Square before an estimated 200,