The universal church is on full display during the waiting-for-white-smoke period. Watchers who gather at St. Peter's Square ...

Francis-era reforms that saw a diverse group of cardinals join the mix make his successor nearly impossible to call.

The chimney on the Sistine Chapel is up, and voting to elect the next pope will begin on Wednesday afternoon, May 7. Here is ...

Experts say the process requires "two custom fireworks", smoke test rehearsals and Vatican firefighters on standby.

When the papal conclave begins on Wednesday (May 7), the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church will enter a cloistered world ...

The meeting of the College of Cardinals, where the next head of the Catholic Church will be selected, is scheduled to take ...

The Vatican prepared for the conclave to pick the next pope with the installation of a Sistine Chapel chimney. ABC News' Ines de La Cuetara takes a look at the front runners.

The universal church is on full display during the waiting-for-white-smoke period. Watchers who gather at St. Peter's Square ...

There is high expectation among the Catholic faithful across the globe as the processes to announce the successor of the late Pope Francis will commence on Wednesday May 7 in the Vatican. This is ...

The preparations are all leading up to the solemn pageantry of the start of the conclave to elect a successor to Pope Francis ...

The voting is highly choreographed and time-consuming to avoid any possibility of fraud or doubt about the results.

Besides its masterpieces by Michelangelo, the Sistine Chapel is undergoing a makeover, involving the installation of a stove ...