Like the word's definition, the institution of the papal conclave has shifted over the centuries. A room is shown inside the Santa Marta residence in Vatican City on April 11, 2005.

Pope Francis's death at the age of 88 means the Catholic Church must choose a new leader. Here's how cardinals elect the next pontiff at the conclave.

The first pope was St. Peter, the apostle of Jesus Christ. When does the conclave start? How long does it last? The conclave, customarily held 15 to 20 days after the pope’s death, will start May 7.

The death of Pope Francis means a papal conclave will be held to select a successor, but besides who wins, the public will most likely not know how many votes the successor received, nor would ...

The papal conclave will convene in Rome on May 7 as the church's 135 cardinals sequester in the Sistine Chapel to vote on the successor to Francis, who died April 21 at 88.

The Conclave has remained virtually unchanged for the last 800 years and typically begins 15 to 20 days after the pope's death or resignation. Skip Navigation Share on Facebook ...

The shortest conclave on record was in 1503, when it took the cardinals only 10 hours to choose Pope Pius III as the new pontiff. The longest conclave on record took nearly three years.

After a pope dies – or in very rare cases, resigns – the Catholic Church chooses its next leader through an ancient electoral process called the papal conclave. Here's how it works.

Like his predecessors, Pope Francis was selected using an age-old method -- a system known as the Papal conclave. To stream KHOU 11 on your phone, you need the KHOU 11 app. Download the KHOU 11 app ...