African outreach was among Pope Francis' legacies, observers say, with numerous visits and a message of mercy inspiring ...

On the eve of the conclave to elect the next pope, the world's smallest country, Vatican City, is engulfed in commotion as ...

As cardinals prepare for the largest papal conclave in history, battle lines are being drawn over the direction of the church ...

Hollywood and the media love intrigue. And the interregnum in the Catholic Church provides much fodder for an institution ...

Will the adage 'fat pope, thin pope' bear out as cardinals pick a successor to Pope Francis in the May 7 conclave?

Cardinals electing a new pope have some fundamental questions to weigh, beyond whether to give the Catholic Church its first ...

First, those who embrace Pope Francis’ wide-ranging, modernising changes in the Catholic church. The reform-minded pope made ...

Catholics represent about 20% of the population in Africa, giving the continent an advantage over regions with fewer numbers ...

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — If the next pope is from sub-Saharan Africa, he would be the first in Catholic Church history.

The African continent is home to one-fifth of the world's Catholics. Many are hoping the next pope will come from their ...

Cardinal Wilton Gregory, Archbishop of Washington, is emerging as a historic contender for the papacy. Could the first American Pope be African-American? It’s a question that has gained traction in ...

Nowhere in the world is the Roman Catholic Church growing faster than in Africa, a continent Francis showered with attention.