VATICAN CITY (AP) — Black smoke was pouring out of the Sistine Chapel chimney, indicating no pope was elected on the first ballot of the conclave to choose a new leader of the Catholic Church.

A chimney was installed Friday on the roof of the Sistine Chapel ahead of the conclave set to begin next Wednesday, which will decide the successor to Pope Francis.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — With the cry of "extra omnes" — Latin for "all out" — the great doors of the Sistine Chapel closed Wednesday and 133 cardinals began the secretive, centuries-old ritual ...

In the Sistine Chapel, ... “There’s also a prayer to call down the Holy Spirit, … fully God as much as the Father and the Son, but the Spirit that guides the church,” Millies added.

NPR's Scott Detrow speaks with art historian Kim Butler about the artwork that adorns the walls of the Sistine Chapel and its significance ahead of the conclave to elect the next pope.

Another fresco depicts the binding of Isaac, in which a hooded Abraham prepares to sacrifice his son on God’s orders. The Great Flood is depicted as it was by Michelangelo at the Sistine Chapel ...

The 133 cardinals from 70 countries will be locked inside the Sistine Chapel, where they will vote in secret and silence, a process designed to be both contemplative and free from outside interfere… ...

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Black smoke was pouring out of the Sistine Chapel chimney, indicating no pope was elected on the first ballot of the conclave to choose a new leader of the Catholic Church.

VATICAN CITY – Black smoke was pouring out of the Sistine Chapel chimney, indicating no pope was elected on the first ballot of the conclave to choose a new leader of the Catholic Church.. More ...