The 72-year-old Salesian missionary has spent more than three decades of his priestly ministry in the developing world and now leads a tiny Catholic minority in a Muslim-majority country.

At the upcoming conclave, of the 133 cardinal electors who will enter the Sistine Chapel, 23 will come from Asia. At least six are on various short lists as “papabile,” or “popeable” candidates.

The rules and rituals for the election of a new pope say that immediately after his election, he goes into the sacristy of the Sistine Chapel and puts on “the garments that are appropriate to him.”

As prefect of the Vatican office tasked with overseeing and supporting the world’s priests and permanent deacons, Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-sik has brought his unique experience in formation and evangelization from South Korea to the universal church.

While no one expects cardinals to vote as geographical blocs for a new pope, Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, president of the African bishops’ council, and the presidents of other regional conferences have connections and knowledge that many of their confreres do not.

Lorraine Salvidar shared her family’s story, as well as her clinical experience working with families of people with addictions, at the trauma and addiction-focused Catholic Psychotherapy Association Conference in Philadelphia May 1-3.

With less than 48 hours until the beginning of the conclave, the cardinals who will enter the Sistine Chapel to elect a new pope discussed war, the need for dialogue and the role of the pope in fostering it.

In a full church on a Monday evening in Rome, just two days before the conclave to elect a new pope was set to begin, Cardinal Robert W. McElroy of Washington shared a confidence: “I have no guess” who will be chosen.

With the declining situation in Gaza always in his heart, in his final months, Pope Francis bequeathed his popemobile to Caritas Jerusalem and directed the agency to turn it into a mobile health station for the children in Gaza.

Ukrainian religious leaders met with the head of the U.S. Catholic bishops’ conference, asking the church in the U.S. to “be on the side of the truth” regarding Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine.