Popes

Leo XIV’s pontificate will likely be defined by his approach to the violent conflicts rending the globe, which his predecessor, the late Pope Francis, referred to as “a Third World War in pieces.”

He built his lovable persona not on the page but via pictures and improvised chat, the stuff of screens.

Amid the extreme political polarization in his home country, the Pope found himself at odds with nearly every President.

In a historic moment characterized by autocrats and would-be autocrats, Francis was the antithesis of a strongman.

A new account of the papacy’s recent history reveals the transformation of the office in the mass-media age.

The political maneuvering of cardinals gathered in the Vatican to choose a new Pope gives rise to fine performances but merely methodical drama.

The Pontiff has shown that Catholicism is a dynamic institution, whose leader can face unresolved questions openly.

Since the death of Benedict XVI, it’s been open season at the Vatican.

For more than two decades, as a cardinal, Joseph Ratzinger repeatedly refused to let Catholics question Church doctrine.

Outside the Vatican, a shop stewards the flourishing art of papal couture.

After white smoke billowed at the Vatican, a massive crowd celebrated and rumors about the vote swirled across Rome.