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.

Retired U.S. Cardinal Bernard F. Law, former archbishop of Boston, sits with other cardinals before the start of Pope Benedict XVI’s final general audience on Feb. 27 in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. PHOTO: CNS/Alessandro Bianchi, Reuters

The voting by cardinals to elect the next pope takes place behind the locked doors of the Sistine Chapel, following a highly detailed procedure that underwent major revisions by Blessed John Paul II and a small, but very significant change, by Pope Benedict XVI.

Benedict XVI’s papacy has been one of imagination and urbanity hampered by bureaucracy, writes Tracey Rowland

Around their hometown of Kabba in the state of Kogi, Nigeria, Michael Onaiyekan is known these days not by his own name but as “aburo cardinal,” or brother of the cardinal. He chuckles to consider — but doesn’t dismiss — the notion that within a few weeks his name in Kabba might, just might, become “aburo pope,” brother of the pope.

Pope Benedict XVI’s pontificate was marked by strong ties of friendship and esteem with the leaders of the world’s Orthodox and Anglican Christians, but his papacy also coincided with a difficult time in the search for full Christian unity.