The change of format came about following the death of Pope Gregory IX, who had been at odds with the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II. A group of 10 cardinals were locked in the ancient and ...

However, in 13th-century Western Europe, cats became associated with the supernatural, when Pope Gregory IX called them an instrument of Satan. Let’s travel back in time now to the Middle Ages ...

Voting Under ‘Lock and Key’ In 1274, Pope Gregory X established the basics of the conclave system still used today – most importantly, that cardinals would be completely isolated and confine ...

The youngest pope in history, Pope Benedict IX, ascended to the position at just ... The last pope to do so was Pope Gregory XII in 1415. The sheer gap between these events underscores how rare ...

Prevost is one of 137 special bishops able to vote to elect a new pope. And Cardinal Wilton Gregory, 77, the socially progressive archbishop of Washington, D.C., until retiring in January ...