The leader of the world’s 1 billion Roman Catholics addressed past scandals and embraced migrants, the poor and gay and lesbian faithful. Some wished he’d gone further.

By paving the way for an American pope, Leo’s predecessor has ensured the faith won’t get hijacked by the right.

For the first time, the majority of cardinals to choose a pope are not from Europe, as Catholic demographics shift. But Europe remains the largest source of cardinals.

The rite of the closing of the coffin took place at 8 p.m. local time Friday at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, officials said. During the rite, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, interim manager of the Vatican ...

Thus, all of today’s Dispatch Faith focuses on Francis’ legacy, what may come next for the Catholic Church, or both. One housekeeping note: In this edition, I’m including a short Q&A with ...

An American rabbi has voiced optimism for Catholic-Jewish relations after the election of Pope Leo XIV, saying his ...

When he was elevated to the papacy in 2013, Pope Francis was widely expected to shake up the Catholic Church, to liberals’ delight and conservatives’ horror. Such ancient teachings as the ...

the Roman Catholic Church on Saturday laid to rest Pope Francis, the first South American pope, whose simple style, pastoral vision and outsize footprint on the world stage both reinvigorated and ...

and one that eventually set the Catholic Church on a new path of accountability for clergy sexual abuse. Francis was asked by a TV reporter about a Chilean bishop who had been accused by victims ...

Further, when Francis called for a worldwide synod of the Catholic Church, he acknowledged that the church had wounded and excluded many – impoverished people, people with disabilities ...

Following the death of Pope Francis, the Vatican began the conclave process to elect the new pope. Some students studying at ...