As the Vatican is set to seal "the four sacred portals" on Christmas Day, many Catholics fear this ritual has a deeper ...

Pope Francis has continued to break with tradition even in death, having requested before he died several changes to the ceremony and burial that accompany the passing of a pontiff. But although the ...

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The death of a pope sets in motion a series of carefully orchestrated rites and rituals well before the conclave to elect his successor begins. They involve the certification of ...

HOUSTON — The only exhibit of Vatican artifacts outside the papal capital is on display in an unlikely spot — the National Museum of Funeral History, an exhibit hall that celebrates ...

Pope Francis—the first Jesuit and Latin American pope—has died. As 1.4 billion Catholics begin mourning the loss of their pastor, and the world grieves one of its most prominent spiritual leaders, the ...