If you joined us earlier this morning, you saw a spectacular liturgy from inside St. Peter’s Basilica. During this Mass, called the Pro Eligendo Romano Pontifice Mass, the cardinals prayed for the election of a new Supreme Pontiff. Salt + Light will continue its in-depth analysis and reporting throughout the coming days. We will be ...read more

Earlier this morning at the Vatican, the College of Cardinals gathered inside St. Peter’s Basilica for a Pro Eligendo Romano Pontifice Mass. This Mass was the final step before the opening of today’s conclave. Published below is an official translation of the homily, as delivered by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, main celebrant and Dean of the ...read more

After white smoke streams out of the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, the moment the world will wait for is when Cardinal Jean Louis Tauran announces the name of the Cardinal who has been elected pope. Below is list of the names of the Cardinal electors, in Latin. The list was painstakingly compiled by Catholic ...read more

Here are a few fun facts about Conclaves in modern history, courtesy of Vatican Radio. The information is provided by Dr. Donald Prudlo, Associate Professor of History at Jacksonville State University, Alabama. 1740 election of Benedict XIV (d. 1758) 51 electors, 4 died during conclave 18 Feb – 17 August (181 days) LONGEST IN MODERN ...read more

Over the past few days in our mini-blog series, Getting to Habemus Papam we invited you to remember the conclaves which have elected the Popes of the past two centuries. In fact, we went one step further and thought you might also enjoy using this timeline to browse your way back and forth through the ...read more

During the 20th century, the length of papal Conclaves has never exceeded 5 days. On the basis of this precedent, one would imagine that a Pope will be elected by Saturday, March 16. (However, precedents are being broken regularly in Rome in these recent weeks.) 1903 — 4 days, 7 votes (Pope Pius X elected) ...read more

With the recent papal transition in the media, much attention has been focused on the role of women in the Church. Questions have been raised: Should women be ordained as priests? Is there equality in the Church? Does the Church value women? Join us as host Kris Dmytrenko speaks with three diverse Catholic women to ...read more

Salt and Light producer Sebastian Gomes sits down with John Allen Jr. to discuss possible candidates for the Papacy. John is a multi-awarded journalist who specializes in Vatican affairs. ...read more

Photo: Cardinals enter the Sistine Chapel at the beginning of the conclave at the Vatican on April 18, 2005. The eighth General Congregation of the College of Cardinals has decided that the Conclave will begin on Tuesday, 12 March 2013.  A Pro Eligendo Romano Pontifice Mass will be celebrated in St. Peter’s Basilica in the ...read more

In the weeks leading up to the conclave the Cardinals are meeting in Rome to discuss the state of the Church and the profile of the new pope. It is no secret that questions of administration and governance at the Vatican have been raised. But there are also serious conversations going on about evangelization, inter-religious dialogue, ...read more