5 h. ago Conclave live: Cardinals set for more talks after black smoke signals no pope chosen on first day

The smoke signals that the 133 cardinals have voted but haven’t reached a two-thirds consensus required to elect a successor to Pope Francis

Events

8 h. ago Conclave live updates: Black smoke pours from Sistine Chapel after Cardinals fail to elect pope

The smoke signals that the 133 cardinals have voted but haven’t reached a two-thirds consensus required to elect a successor to Pope Francis

Events

9 h. ago Black smoke emerges at Vatican as conclave fails to elect pope – live

Cardinals will be back for more votes tomorrow with up to four rounds of votingWho will be the next pope? Potential candidatesPapal in-tray: new pontiff will have to hit ground runningHow does the conclave work?If you’d rather get up to date on the pomp and the politics of the conclave, the process to elect Pope Francis’s successor, good news: we’ve got you covered.It is, as Guardian journalist Harriet Sherwood explains, an election rich in ceremony and ritual. Yet it can get very dirty too: cardinals lobbying in corridors and Vatican gardens; allegations of leaks to the media to discredit rivals; even the emergence of a video of one cardinal – a bookies’ favourite to be the next pope – singing ‘atheist anthem’ Imagine by John Lennon. Continue reading...

Events

9 h. ago Conclave latest LIVE: Black smoke from Vatican chimney signals Cardinals have not chosen new pope

Some 133 Cardinals began their secretive conclave on Wednesday with a first round of voting due in the afternoon

Events

10 h. ago Conclave latest LIVE: Cardinals hold vote for new pope as watch begins for smoke from Vatican chimney

Some 133 Cardinals began their secretive conclave on Wednesday with a first round of voting due in the afternoon

Politics

11 h. ago World awaits chimney smoke as conclave starts to elect new pope – live

Doors to the Sistine Chapel have been closed and first vote expected to be taken today Who will be the next pope? Potential candidatesPapal in-tray: new pontiff will have to hit ground runningHow does the conclave work?If you’d rather get up to date on the pomp and the politics of the conclave, the process to elect Pope Francis’s successor, good news: we’ve got you covered.It is, as Guardian journalist Harriet Sherwood explains, an election rich in ceremony and ritual. Yet it can get very dirty too: cardinals lobbying in corridors and Vatican gardens; allegations of leaks to the media to discredit rivals; even the emergence of a video of one cardinal – a bookies’ favourite to be the next pope – singing ‘atheist anthem’ Imagine by John Lennon. Continue reading...

Events

11 h. ago Conclave live: Cardinals begin secret vote to choose new Pope as crowds watch for smoke from Vatican

In the pre-conclave Mass, senior cardinal Giovanni Battista Re prayed for the cardinal electors to be enlightened to choose “the Pope our time needs”

Politics

12 h. ago Conclave latest LIVE: Cardinals begin secret vote inside Sistine Chapel to choose new pope

Some 133 Cardinals began their secretive conclave on Wednesday with a first round of voting due in the afternoon

Politics

12 h. ago Conclave begins as locking of Sistine Chapel signals formal start to process to elect new pope – live

Doors to the Sistine Chapel have been closed and first vote expected to be taken today Who will be the next pope? Potential candidatesPapal in-tray: new pontiff will have to hit ground runningHow does the conclave work?If you’d rather get up to date on the pomp and the politics of the conclave, the process to elect Pope Francis’s successor, good news: we’ve got you covered.It is, as Guardian journalist Harriet Sherwood explains, an election rich in ceremony and ritual. Yet it can get very dirty too: cardinals lobbying in corridors and Vatican gardens; allegations of leaks to the media to discredit rivals; even the emergence of a video of one cardinal – a bookies’ favourite to be the next pope – singing ‘atheist anthem’ Imagine by John Lennon. Continue reading...

Politics

13 h. ago Conclave latest LIVE: Cardinals take oath of secrecy inside Sistine Chapel as vote for new pope to begin

Some 133 Cardinals begin their secretive conclave on Wednesday with a first round of voting due in the afternoon

Politics

14 h. ago Conclave live: Cardinals begin secret election to choose next Pope in Sistine Chapel

In the pre-conclave Mass, senior cardinal Giovanni Battista Re prayed for the cardinal electors to be enlightened to choose “the Pope our time needs”

Politics

15 h. ago Watch live: Cardinals begin choosing new pope in largest ever conclave

Watch live on Wednesday (7 May) as cardinals begin choosing a new pope in the largest ever Papa Conclave.

Politics

17 h. ago Conclave live: Next Pope is ‘everybody’s guess’ before Cardinals gather for oath of secrecy and first vote

Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Filipino cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle are among the favourites to succeed Pope Francis ahead of the secretive ballot

Politics

18 h. ago Conclave latest LIVE: Cardinals attend Mass at the Vatican before secretive papal election begins

Some 133 Cardinals begin their secretive conclave on Wednesday with a first round of voting due in the afternoon

Politics

19 h. ago Conclave cardinals told choice for next pope is of ‘exceptional importance’

The electors met for mass at St Peter’s Basilica ahead of the conclave in the Sistine Chapel from Wednesday afternoon.

Politics

19 h. ago Conclave latest LIVE: Cardinals attend final Mass at St Peter's Basilica before electing next pope

The conclave begins at the Vatican with mass attended by all voting cardinals in St Peter’s Basilica

Politics

19 h. ago New pope will face ‘complex moment in history’, senior cardinal says, before conclave to select Pope Francis’ successor – live

Cardinals set to meet behind closed doors of Sistine Chapel to decide who will become new popeCardinals to begin choosing new popePapal in-tray: new pontiff will have to hit ground runningHow does the conclave work?In his homily – seen as a guiding message for the 133 cardinals set to take part in the conclave – Battista Re called for the help of the Holy Spirit to guide cardinals in choosing the pope “that the church and humanity need at this difficult and complex turning point in history.”He urged them to “put aside all personal considerations” and demonstrate love, “the only force capable of changing the world.” Continue reading...

Culture

20 h. ago Conclave live: Catholic cardinals from around the world gather to elect new pope

Cardinals meet behind closed doors of Sistine Chapel to decide who should succeed Pope FrancisCardinals to begin choosing new popePapal in-tray: new pontiff will have to hit ground runningHow does the conclave work?You can follow the mass live here:And you can follow the texts here. Continue reading...

Politics

22 h. ago Conclave latest LIVE: Cardinals gather at the Vatican to elect successor to Pope Francis

The conclave begins at the Vatican with mass attended by all voting cardinals in St Peter’s Basilica at 9am BST

Politics

2 w. ago Pope Francis: outsider whose reforming mission made him an ally of progressives

The pontiff took on church traditionalists and rightwing populism, making powerful enemies on the wayIn his first words from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica in 2013, the newly elected Pope Francis, told the packed square below: “You all know that the duty of the conclave was to give a bishop to Rome. It seems that my brother cardinals have come almost to the ends of the earth to get him.”The wry observation struck a winning self-deprecatory note. But the Argentine pope’s allusion to his outsider status was telling: having been chosen by his peers, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio intended his to be a far more radical and reforming papacy than the conclave had bargained for. In the 13th century, St Francis of Assisi is said to have received the divine instruction: “Go, rebuild my house.” The first Pope to take the saint’s name viewed his own task in similar terms. Continue reading...

Events