The death of Pope Francis sets into motion a series of rituals, some of which go back more than 2,000 years, including how to ...

Alongside the gossip and the gallows humor, the ancient and solemn rituals continue,” Chiara Barzini writes from Italy.

A USA TODAY reporter recalls covering the last conclave when Pope Francis was selected. What to expect if you go to Rome for ...

Novelist Jeffers (The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois) presents a collection of incisive essays exploring “the crossroads”: “a location of difficulty and possibility, a boundary Continue ...

Pope Francis' upcoming funeral will be slightly different than past papal funerals after he chose to revise the rules and end ...

Pope Francis will be laid to rest April 26 at Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major, in keeping with his final wishes. The ...

In 2005, John Paul II’s funeral was six days after his ... a nine-day period of mourning that dates back to ancient Rome. The funeral Mass must take place four to six days after the pope ...

He also asked that his “last earthly journey” end at the “very ancient Marian shrine,” of Santa Maria Maggiore, or St. Mary Major, in Rome. With St. Peter’s, St. John Lateran, St. Paul ...

VATICAN CITY — As pilgrims and world leaders alike prepare to say goodbye to Pope Francis at his funeral Saturday, Rome is racing to ... since the funeral of Pope John Paul II.

Here are some of the key words and phrases that will be used throughout the interregnum, especially the conclave to elect the ...