VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The first clue to the identity of the new pope will be the announcement of his first name -- in Latin, in the accusative case. If he is not the one chosen, French Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the top-ranked cardinal-deacon, will say, in Latin, "I announce to you a great joy. We...
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Though the Vatican has become increasingly savvy with more modern forms of communication, it's still sticking with more primitive methods -- swirling smoke and tolling bells -- to announce whether a new pope has been elected. In a similar vein, the Vatican press hall will not...
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Hours before the start of the conclave that will choose the next pope, the dean of the College of Cardinals celebrated the papacy as a source of unity among Catholics and of evangelization and charitable service to the world. Christ "has established his apostles and among them...
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Cardinal electors assembled in Rome will begin voting for the next pope March 12.Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, announced the date for the start of the election, known as a conclave, in a message to reporters March 8.The first session of voting inside...
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Even though a conclave to elect a new pope has not yet started, the papal tailors have the white cassock ready for the new pontiff when he appears less than an hour after his election on the balcony overlooking St. Peter's Square. The Gammarelli shop proudly showcased in its s...
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The College of Cardinals began their formal pre-conclave meetings March 4 with 142 members present, 103 of whom are under the age of 80 and eligible to enter the conclave to vote for a new pope. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said the cardinals did not...
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MANILA, Philippines (CNS) -- Rosalinda Nakanome tries not to look at the sea very much these days. "It's like I've developed a phobia at the sight of water," she said by telephone, thinking back nearly two years to the tsunami that washed away her home in the northeastern Japanese coastal town of R...
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CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (CNS) -- Benedict XVI, who began his papacy describing himself as a "humble servant in the Lord's vineyard," described his retirement as a time of being a "simple pilgrim, who begins the last stage of his pilgrimage on this earth." The 85-year-old pope arrived in Castel Gando...
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The pope's @Pontifex Twitter fans will get two more tweets before the account goes into "hibernation" during the "sede vacante" period starting when Pope Benedict XVI steps down.   Also, while the papal tweets go on hiatus, the Vatican's Secretariat of State will be prepa...
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The last general audience in St. Peter's Square turned into a farewell party with balloons, flowers, flags, posters, cheers, standing ovations and a touching thank-you speech from Pope Benedict XVI. Authorities estimated about 130,000 people were in attendance, most of them pa...
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