Once the cardinals close themselves off in the Sistine Chapel so that voting on the next pope can begin, eyes outside turn to a chimney poking out of the chapel, clearly visible from St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City. It will release a plume of white smoke if a pope has been chosen, and black […]
No one knows how long the conclave will last. There is no formal time limit: until two-thirds of the 133 voting Roman Catholic cardinals agree on a new pope, they must continue to vote. Past papal selections have lasted from just a few hours to nearly three years. In the 13th century, the tradition of […]
The conclave to elect the next pope is now underway at the Vatican. The cardinals — the prelates who are just below the pope in the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy — will vote by secret ballot for a successor to Pope Francis until one candidate earns a two-thirds majority. While we may not know what’s […]
On Wednesday, after leaving their phones at a spare Vatican guesthouse where they will reside until the next pope is chosen, they will enter the Sistine Chapel and begin to vote. No one knows how long the conclave will last. There is no formal time limit: until two-thirds of the 133 voting cardinals agree on […]
Will the India-Pakistan conflict escalate further? A number of Indian aircraft went down in Pakistan after India conducted airstrikes on Pakistan and the Pakistani-held area of Kashmir — two or three, according to Indian officials, Western diplomats and local media, and five planes and at least one drone, according to Pakistan. The question now is […]
It is disquieting to recall the moving ceremony on the beaches of Normandy that marked the 80th anniversary of D-Day 11 months ago, a celebration of the ironclad alliance between the United States and Europe, and their shared resolve to meet “the test of ages” and defend Ukraine. That phrase from former President Joseph R. […]
Indian aircraft went down after the country launched attacks against Pakistan this week, in what it said was retaliation for a terrorist attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 26 people and caused tensions between the two nations to boil over. The exact number and variety of lost aircraft is not yet clear. Two or three […]
A woman has been killed and a man has been severely injured in an axe attack at the University of Warsaw on Wednesday, according to Polish police. A 22-year-old Polish man has been arrested in connection with the attack which the university has called a “huge tragedy”. Both victims worked at the university. In a […]
There are so many unfamiliar faces, cardinals are wearing name tags. The Vatican guesthouse for out-of-towners coming to choose the next pope is overbooked. Daily Vatican meetings have taken on the feel of theological speed-dating sessions. “The cardinals don’t know each other so well,” said Cardinal Anders Arborelius of Sweden, who has spent recent days […]
As Donald J. Trump has injected chaos into the world by roiling America’s alliances and threatening economic turmoil with his wall of tariffs, China has tried to sell a consistent message: We will be a force of global stability during a turbulent time. That pitch will be more difficult to square as Xi Jinping visits […]