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Long Islanders were among those who packed St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City when Pope Leo was elected the first American leader of the Catholic Church.

The Vatican press corps is watching Leo XIV very closely for clues to the kind of pope he plans to be, writes William Crawley.

Pope Leo XIV appears at the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica for his first Sunday blessing after his election, in St. Peter¥s Square at the Vatican, Sunday May 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Pope Leo XIV appears at the central balcony of St.

The pop star was photographed on May 8 in attendance at the conclave election of Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, which is a photo that has now gone viral.

The Vatican, the smallest country in the world, has an economy shrouded in secrecy. Here are some little known facts that will give you a peek into the mysterious world of the Vatican's finances.

The ritual for electing a new pope took social media by storm this week as content creators reacted to the ancient tradition with memes, skits and parodies.

Among the regular pilgrims, tourists and assorted onlookers were groups of nuns. There are around 600,000 Catholic nuns around the world, and they dedicate their lives to a variety of religious services, like charitable work, living in seclusion in monasteries and focusing on prayer.

The Catholic Church's cardinal electors entered the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican to choose a successor to Pope Francis, as the 2025 papal conclave begins.

In a tradition that scholars date to the 19th century, smoke released from a chimney will be colored white if the cardinals have made a decision, or black if they remain deadlocked.

The new Pope, Leo XIV, should direct an urgent review of the Vatican’s 2018 agreement with the Chinese government that allows Beijing to appoint bishops for government-approved houses of worship.