Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet said the conclave “opens up a new future” for the church and is a responsibility the cardinals see as “their main task.”

The College of Cardinals began their formal pre-conclave meetings March 4 with 142 members present, 103 of whom are under the age of 80 and eligible to enter the conclave to vote for a new pope.

The next pope must be “very aware” of the need for vigilance in preventing clergy sex abuse and accept a policy of “zero tolerance” as the universal law of the church, said Chicago’s Cardinal Francis E. George.

Catholics around the world were left popeless late Feb. 28, but Catholics in the Diocese of Rome were left without their bishop as well. The resignation of the pope, the bishop of Rome, triggered changes in the Mass texts — particularly in the eucharistic prayers — used by priests all over the world.

Less than half of the 117 cardinals eligible to vote for a successor to Pope Benedict XVI were in the 2005 conclave that elected him. Two of those that were — Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa and South African Cardinal Wilfrid Napier — described the scene as being one of deep prayer and some trembling.

What are the rules for choosing a pope? Most people know there is a vote in the Sistine Chapel, but there are highly specific procedures and strict rules in place, all aimed at bringing about a clear result, as Carol Glatz reports …

From acting and singing to production, and with a conversion along the way, Mexican-born Eduardo Verástegui has affected the lives and faith of many, writes Elisabeth Doherty, Communications Director of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.

The period immediately following a pontificate is one of excited speculation, more or less loose, about the identity of the next pope.

These Photo’s show the events of Pope Emeritus Benedict’s resignation from the Holy See on Feb 28 and the beginning of Sede Vacante where the Holy See is considered to be vacant.

A prominent voice at the Vatican in the run-up to the papal election, Italian Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi is a biblical scholar who can quote just as easily from Sufi poets, Dante and Danish philosophers as he can from sacred Scripture.