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

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

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

Preparations for the conclave to find a new pope accelerated Friday with the installation of the chimney out of the Sistine ...

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.

Here are ten surprising and interesting facts about Papal conclaves.The longest conclave lasted almost three yearsThere is no ...

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

The meeting of the College of Cardinals, where the next head of the Catholic Church will be selected, is scheduled to take place on May 7 ...

The Vatican's Sistine Chapel has been prepared to host 133 Cardinal electors for the upcoming conclave to elect the 267th ...

CITÉ DU VATICAN, Holy See (AFP) — Besides its masterpieces by Michelangelo, the Sistine Chapel is undergoing a makeover, ...

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

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