News & Commentary

Mexican migrant workers pick blueberries during a harvest at a farm in Lake Wales, Fla., March 31, 2020.

Poll: Record-high percentage of US adults say immigration generally a good thing for country

As the Trump administration implements its hardline immigration policies, a record-high share of U.S. adults said immigration generally benefits the country, a new Gallup Poll found.
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Black smoke billows from the chimney on the Sistine Chapel May 8, 2025, on the second day of the conclave.

A morning of black smoke from the Sistine Chapel chimney

The 133 cardinals who entered the conclave failed to reach a two-thirds supermajority of at least 89 votes to elect a new pope during their morning session May 8.
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Conclave: First ballot fails to elect pope

As expected, the 133 cardinals who entered the Sistine Chapel May 7 failed to elect the next pope on their first ballot.
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Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi of Bologna processes into St. Peter's Basilica for the Mass "Pro Eligendo Romano Pontifice" ("for the election of the Roman pontiff") at the Vatican May 7, 2025.

Choose the pope the world needs, dean urges cardinals before conclave

At Mass before the conclave that will elect the next pope, the dean of the College of Cardinals urged his brothers to choose the shepherd the church and all of humanity need "at this difficult and complex and tormented" turning ...
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Cardinals Gérald C. Lacroix of Québec, Wilton D. Gregory, retired archbishop of Washington, and Daniel N. DiNardo, retired archbishop of Galveston-Houston, speak outside the Pontifical North American College in Rome May 5, 2025.

In final pre-conclave meetings, cardinals discuss war, dialogue

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.
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Pope Francis greets an elderly woman as he meets with people in Asuncion, Paraguay, July 12, 2015. The pope in January 2021 established the World Day for Grandparents and Elderly, celebrated annually on the fourth Sunday of July, near the July 26 liturgical memorial of Jesus' grandparents Sts. Joachim and Anne. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

In 12 years, Pope Francis made enormous impact on church, liturgical life

While the liturgical legacy of Pope Francis may have flown under the radar for many, several experts told OSV News his 12-year papacy made a definite impact.
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Salesian Sister Alessandra Smerilli, secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, is pictured meeting the pope at the Vatican in an undated photo. Pope Francis named Sister Alessandra to her post in 2021, first as undersecretary then as secretary. Formerly Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the pope died April 21, 2025, at age 88. (CNS photo/Vatican Media, courtesy Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development)

How Francis’ legacy is shaping the next chapter of the Church for women

The enduring legacy of Pope Francis is seen in the women whose voices helped shape his vision.
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