The office of pope, successor of St. Peter, has always been steeped in symbolism. But as popes came and went, one symbol has kept returning to prominence: the seal of the Holy See during a papal ...

The word itself predates Christianity, but the conclave with its secretive deliberations and ancient trappings still captures the public's curiosity.

The pomp and ceremony of a papal conclave — the flutter of cardinals gathering in their red robes, the crowds at the Vatican awaiting the white smoke that proceeds the proclamation from a ...