Novels and films that include or revolve around a conclave often include nefarious plotting, or at least politicking, and attempts to wing it when it comes to the rules for electing a new pope.

Asserting that the Catholic Church needed the gifts and experiences of women, Pope Francis appointed several women to top positions in the Roman Curia, including the first female prefect of a major dicastery, and worked to ensure their contributions were recognized in parishes and dioceses around the world.

The pontificate of Pope Francis did not result in breakthrough theological agreements with other Christians, but huge strides were made in personal relations and practical cooperation.

As the pope of the peripheries, Pope Francis brought the heart, mind and soul of the Catholic Church in Latin America from what he called the “ends of the earth” to the center of Christendom.

The impact of Pope Francis’ papacy upon Catholic marriage and family life will be extensively studied, debated and commentated upon in the weeks following his death on April 21.

Pope Francis’ approach to key issues including his concern for the environment, immigration and abortion did not fit neatly into American political ideologies, Catholic political and theology experts told OSV News.

Throughout his papacy, Pope Francis, who died April 21 at the age of 88, faced the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church, attempting to balance defending the church from criticism while showing compassion toward survivors, with often mixed results.

This basilica, rebuilt and magnificently adorned over the centuries, has been a rallying point for popes and laypeople, for Romans and pilgrims alike, to venerate the maternity and life of the Blessed Mother.

Cardinals around the world are remembering Pope Francis not just as a pope, but as a pastor deeply connected to real life. Some also expressed their hopes for the next pope.

Growing old isn’t something to be feared, but rather something to embrace as a time of grace in one’s life, Pope Francis wrote in a preface for a book that was not released before he died.