As dozens of cardinals arrived for their pre-conclave meetings on Friday, it was probably not lost on them that the next pope was among them. So, who will lead the world's 1.4 billion Catholics?

Mel Gibson discusses the 1958 Vatican Conclave on Joe Rogan, highlighting secretive voting, unexpected white smoke, and the ...

All eyes are on Vatican City Tuesday with just over a day to go until the start of the papal conclave to elect the 267th pope. It would be "unexpected" if the conclave goes past Friday, Cardinal ...

Pope Leo XIV - history-making, the first American Pope. Now, David Muir reports from the Vatican in the breaking, new "20/20" special edition.

Cardinals attend a final Mass celebrated by cardinals inside St. Peter's Basilica before the conclave to elect a new pope, at the Vatican, Wednesday, May 7, 2025.

Where does a papal conclave take place? A papal conclave takes place at the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. Only the College of Cardinals is allowed inside. What is the College of Cardinals?

At the last conclave, in 2013, the Vatican said it used a mixture of potassium perchlorate, anthracene and sulphur to produce black smoke, and potassium chlorate, lactose and rosin for white.

The Vatican released videos of the Room of Tears ahead of the conclave. In the room, there are vestments in 3 different sizes, depending on the size of the new pope.

Following the death or abdication of a pope, the Catholic Church's College of Cardinals meets at the Vatican to choose a new pope at a papal conclave.