Cardinals arrive for a college of cardinals’ meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi arrives for a college of cardinals’ meeting at the Vatican,

Can a convicted cardinal vote for the next pope? The Vatican is preparing to elect a new pope after the death of Pope Francis, but a surprising issue has emerged. A cardinal, once a powerful figure in the Catholic Church,

Pope Francis, supreme pastor to almost 1.5 billion Catholics, died on Monday at the age of 88. The papal throne, which now sits vacant, is approximately 2,000 years old. In the past, popes crowned kings and emperors.