Vatican

Black smoke: Cardinals fail to elect new pope on first try

[VATICAN CITY] Thick black smoke emerged on Wednesday from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel in a sign that cardinals had failed to elect a new head of the Catholic Church in their first conclave vote...

Hailing from 70 countries across five continents, the group is the largest and the most international ever.

Catholic Church's direction in the balance as conclave looms

At stake is the direction of the Catholic Church, which is battling to adapt to the modern world

More than 100 senior clergy members will take part in a conclave to cast ballots for the pontiff to succeed Pope Francis, who died on April 21.

Vatican’s secretive conclave to pick next Pope starts May 7

They’ll meet in the Sistine Chapel to pick the new pope

More than 128,000 people have already paid their last respects to Francis.

Huge crowds pack Vatican ahead of Pope's funeral

Italian and Vatican authorities have placed the area around St Peter’s under tight security

The lying in state began on Wednesday and instead of a planned closing at midnight, the basilica remained open until 5.30am (0330 GMT) on Thursday morning, before reopening at 7.00am.

Thousands gather for second day to view pope

The queue to get in on Thursday morning stretched long past the two entry points at St Peter’s Square

Priests decked out in choir dress and others in cassocks made up the long procession, some with candles in their hands, as groups of nuns followed behind.

Pope Francis' coffin carried to Saint Peter's Basilica

His funeral is set for Saturday and is expected to draw huge crowds and leaders from across the globe

Pope Francis lying in the chapel of the Santa Marta residence. His body will be transferred to St Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday morning before the lying-in-state.

Pope Francis’ funeral to be held on Saturday 

A memorial mass for the late pontiff was held on Tuesday by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd in Queen Street

Pope Francis has acknowledged that AI can broaden access to knowledge but has repeatedly warned that it must only be used in an ethical way, to benefit humanity.

Vatican unveils AI services for St Peter’s Basilica ahead of Jubilee

THE Vatican launched on Monday (Nov 11) new Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled services for St Peter’s Basilica, allowing virtual access to its Renaissance-era architectural treasures for all and en...

The pontiff says all Vatican institutions need to find external resources for their missions and their service should be “carried out with a spirit of the essential, avoiding the superfluous.”

Pope orders cardinals to cut unnecessary spending, achieve zero-deficit

The reform of the Vatican’s financial system has been a top priority for Francis after decades of scandals