With all the pomp, drama and solemnity that the Catholic Church can muster, 133 cardinals began the centuries-old ritual to ...

VATICAN CITY -- The conclave to elect the 267th pope and successor to Pope Francis has gotten underway Wednesday. In total, 133 cardinals will be voting during this conclave, the most electors ever, ...

Black smoke pours from Sistine Chapel chimney as first vote inconclusive - The smoke signals that the 133 cardinals have ...

Black smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel's chimney on Wednesday, signaling that the College of Cardinals had not elected a pope.

The potential influence of the spiritual leader of 1.4 billion Catholics attracts the attention of the secular world as well.

The ballots are burned after each vote and the smoke will emanate from the chimney that was built on top of the Sistine Chapel. Black smoke means a majority has not been reached and the voting will ...

Rome (CNN) — Black smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday, meaning that cardinals did not elect a new pope on the first day of the conclave.

Black smoke streamed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, signaling that the more than 130 cardinal electors have not come to a two-thirds agreement about who the next pope should be.

The black smoke confirmed the 133 cardinal electors sequestered inside had not reached the required two-thirds majority — at ...