The Vatican used to be part of the so-called Papal States, areas of Italy under the pope's reign for hundreds of years, until they were conquered during the course of Italian unification in the 19th ...

It consists of 135 electors, 108 of whom were appointed by Francis during his papal tenure, who will decide on the new pope shortly after the Novemdiales period is over. The conclave will ...

The funeral for Pope Francis will include many long-held traditions, but will also eschew some of the more intricate customs after the pope amended the Catholic Church's papal funeral rights.

Following the death or abdication of a pope, the Catholic Church's College of Cardinals meets at the Vatican to choose a new leader at a papal conclave. However, a papal conclave does not ...

a conclave has been held 15-20 days after a papal vacancy, according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The dates for the next conclave have not been announced.

Now, the papal conclave – the process to elect a new pope, held behind locked doors in the Sistine Chapel – will be ready, just as it has been for centuries. Unable to view our graphics?

The last papal election took place in 2013 after Pope ... Andrew Medichini/AP Photos According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the process of choosing a new pope begins ...

The Vatican, headquarters of the Catholic Church, is the smallest state in the world, with its own newspaper, national anthem in Latin and supreme leader — the pope. Some 900 people live within ...