Like his predecessors, Pope Francis was selected using an age-old method -- a system known as the Papal conclave.

Women’s work may not have been glamorous, but it was vital to the workings of the pope’s court and surrounding city.

In the medieval church, women's roles were limited—usually some form of enclosure and celibacy, such as becoming an anchoress ...

Like his predecessors, Pope Francis was selected using an age-old method -- a system known as the Papal conclave.

Sequestered cardinals would not tarry in long discussions, especially when they were away from the comfort of their own palaces, allowed only a single attendant and sleeping in simple cells. If they ...