The death of a pope starts a centuries-old ritual involving sacred oaths by the cardinals electing a successor, the piercing of ballots with a needle and thread after they’re counted, and then burning them to produce either the white or black smoke to signal if there’s a new leader for the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics. 🔔 Subscribe to France 24 now: https://f24.my/YTen 🔴 LIVE – Watch FRANCE 24 English…

Pope Francis faced criticism from conservatives, who accused him of trashing cherished traditions. He also drew the ire of progressives, who felt he should have done much more to reshape the 2,000-year-old Church. “He didn’t intend to be a divisive figure, but…

The bells at Paris’s Notre-Dame cathedral rang out 88 times on April 21 in honour of Pope Francis who died aged 88. The “88 rings for 88 years of life” were to be followed by a full ringing of the cathedral’s bells before a noon mass in Francis’s honour, followed by another in early evening, according to the Notre-Dame press office. France 24’s Emerald Maxwell tells us more. 🔔 Subscribe to France 24…

Pope Francis died on April 21. He was 88. “His coffin could be placed in…

As journalists, aid workers, and children continue to be killed in Gaza, the world watches—but…

Pope Francis has died at age 88, one day after Easter. He presided over the…