The organization’s 2023-2024 annual report, titled “A Force for Hope,” detailed its operations from 2022-2023, most of which followed the June 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that overturned Roe v. Wade and sent the abortion issue back to lawmakers.

Since Dobbs, 12 states have banned elective abortions, and six states passed restrictions at or before 12 weeks of pregnancy, according to data from KFF, formerly known as The Kaiser Family Foundation.

However, Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, performed 402,230 abortions in that time, an increase of nearly 10,000 abortions over the previous year’s report (392,715 abortions).

The report also detailed just 2,148 adoption referrals — an increase of about 400 from the previous year’s report of 1,721 adoption referrals.

Meanwhile, total cancer screening and prevention services — such as pap tests and HPV vaccinations — decreased from the previous report, from 464,021 to 426,268. Pap tests alone declined from 197,617 to 173,397, while HPV vaccinations increased.

Testing and treatment for infections spread through sex increased from the previous year’s report to over 5.1 million from about 4.6 million.

The report showed Planned Parenthood received about $792.2 million in “Government Health Services Reimbursements & Grants” during that time — up more than $100 million over the previous year’s report ($699.3 million).

Despite the increase in government funds, the report also described a relatively unchanged $2 billion revenue situation for Planned Parenthood. The most recent report showed that non-government health services revenue (which includes elective abortion revenues) dropped to $350.5 million (down $21.5 million from the previous year).

Private contributions and bequests were down $313.4 million from the previous year (down to $684.1 million), but the decline was significantly offset by $175.4 million in other operating revenue recorded in the latest report.

A joint message from Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and Tanuja Bahal, its board chair, said, “It’s been over two years since the U.S. Supreme Court took away our constitutional right to abortion. Since then, about 20 states have banned some or all abortions.”

“The road to reproductive freedom is long, and will be full of hurdles. But Planned Parenthood will never give up,” they said.

In a statement, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, a group that works to elect candidates who oppose abortion to public office, said, “Planned Parenthood’s annual report just released shows a new record high for both lives ended — more than 402,000 abortions — and taxpayer funding, close to $800 million or well over $2 million a day.”

“For yet another year, pregnant women seeking help at Planned Parenthood are sold an abortion 97% of the time, while prenatal services, miscarriage care and adoption referrals make up a minuscule minority of the options they offer,” the statement said.

Supporters of allowing Planned Parenthood to receive Medicaid funds point to its cancer screening and prevention services, but critics argue the funds are fungible and could be used to facilitate abortion, despite prohibitions on tax funding for elective abortion procedures.

Efforts to strip Planned Parenthood of public funds are sometimes referred to as “defunding.” Opponents of Planned Parenthood receiving taxpayer dollars, including pro-life advocacy groups like SBA, have pushed their congressional allies to eliminate this funding during the upcoming budget reconciliation process.

“This report heightens the urgency to defund Big Abortion and stop forcing taxpayers to fund an industry that destroys unborn lives and preys on women and girls. As community health centers outnumber Planned Parenthood locations 15 to one nationwide and offer far more comprehensive care, including for Medicaid patients, Americans have real choices and much better options,” the SBA statement said. “We commend our House Republican allies for working hard on a budget reconciliation process that finally gets taxpayers out of the abortion business and we encourage them to persevere. Now more than ever, we can hardly wait to see the ‘one big beautiful bill’ advance in Congress.”

A bill from the House Energy and Commerce Committee would cut Medicaid spending, including eliminating funds for groups that perform abortions such as Planned Parenthood. However, some House Republicans have sought to block that provision.

Meanwhile, a decision in Kerr v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, a case concerning Planned Parenthood’s ability to use Medicaid funds in states that have restricted abortion is pending from the Supreme Court. A decision in that case is expected by the end of the high court’s current term, typically in June.

By Kate Scanlon, OSV News

That most recent Leo, who served as pope from 1878 to 1903, is especially remembered for articulating the church’s teaching on social justice in a rapidly changing and ever industrialized society. He was also interested in promoting the political, theological and philosophical vision of St. Augustine, the namesake and inspiration of the new pope’s religious congregation, and St. Thomas Aquinas.

Leo XIII, was also known as “the Rosary Pope” for his unmatched 11 encyclical letters on Marian devotion.

Aside from Leo XIII, himself not canonized, there have been 12 others who share a name with the new pope, and five of those predecessors attained the heights of sanctity and have been proclaimed saints.

The first pope to bear the name, Pope Leo the Great (c. 400-461), truly had the character of a lion, from which the familiar papal name draws its meaning. A bold defender of the faith amid times of controversy and division, Leo is also remembered for successfully persuading Attila the Hun to spare Italy from an intended invasion of Italy. In doing so, Leo the Great is credited as one of the most influential patristic-era popes, who greatly increased the church’s influence and authority.

Leo the Great was a steady and sure leader amid many threats to the peace and stability of Roman culture at his time, including famine, disease, poverty and a rise in immigration.

His homilies and writings are evidence of the teaching that helped the church overcome various Christological controversies in the fifth century, in the lead up to the Council of Chalcedon in 451. For his doctrinal clarity and ability to articulate unity, Leo the Great was declared a doctor of the church in 1754, one of only two popes so designated.

Pope Benedict XVI said that Leo the Great taught the church “to believe in Christ, true God and true Man, and to implement this faith every day in action for peace and love of neighbor.”

St. Leo II (611-683), who was elected Peter’s successor two centuries later, only reigned for just under nine months. Remembered for a love of music and a unique skill for preaching, Leo II’s brief pontificate is best remembered today through various hymns he composed for the Liturgy of the Hours.

St. Leo III, who reigned as pope for nearly two decades before his death in 816, crowned Charlemagne Holy Roman Emperor in 800. This honor stemmed from, no doubt, Leo’s gratitude for Charlemagne’s protection of him after an attack on his reputation and his life.

St. Leo IV, whose eight-year pontificate ended in 855, restored several churches in Rome after Muslim invaders plundered the sacred structures. The Italian Renaissance painter Raphael commemorated various scenes associated with Leo IV’s time in office. One fresco called “Battle of Ostia” recalls how Leo IV assembled various naval fleets to defend the ancient port at the mouth of Rome’s Tiber River. Another, “The Fire in the Borgo” depicts how Leo’s blessing extinguished a fire near the Vatican in 847.

The relics of popes Leo II, Leo III and Leo IV are enshrined in an altar in St. Peter’s Basilica, close to another altar that contains the relics of St. Leo the Great.

The most recently sainted Leo, St. Leo IX (1002-1054), brought reform to the church, reiterating mandatory clerical celibacy and defending the church’s belief in Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist amid scandal.

A native of modern-day France, Leo IX was allegedly born with red crosses marking his entire body, considered by some as a form of the stigmata. Divisions between Eastern and Western halves of the church intensified during his pontificate, with the Great Schism coming amid the interregnum just after his death.

The relics of St. Leo IX are also separately enshrined in an altar in St. Peter’s Basilica.

By Michael R. Heinlein | OSV News

On the sunny street outside Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, a cab driver, Veronica Canadas, sat in her white taxi, listening intently to media coverage of the announcement of the new pope. She had just learned that Cardinal Robert F. Prevost was elected.

With a big smile on her face, Canadas told OSV News she was “more happy than I can be” to know there was a new successor to St. Peter. And on learning he was a local, Canadas said she was “even more happy … because I live in this city, and for me it’s meaning that we are not alone, especially in these times. God (gave) us this pope for hope.”

A native of Ecuador, Canadas who has lived in Chicago since 1995, said she was also happy that Pope Leo XIV spent a significant part of his priesthood in Peru. This meant he knew Latin American culture, she said. And having him as pope would give hope to Latinos “because of the situation in this country right now, against all immigrants and against, especially, Latino communities.”

Pope Leo XIV, 69, has been with the Augustinian order almost since childhood, having wanted to be one of their priests since he was 13 years old, according to Bishop Daniel Turley, another Augustinian from Chicago and a retired bishop of Chulucanas, Peru. As Father Robert Prevost, the future American pope served under Bishop Turley in the order’s vicariate which includes Chulucanas, Iquitos and Apurímac, Peru, starting in 1988.

“This is unbelievable,” Bishop Turley told OSV News. “It’s the first American pope in the history of the church, and our church is 2,000 years old. So that’s really something. He’s the first Augustinian in the history of the order to become pope, and of course, he’s the first one from Chicago … so he is special.”

Bishop Turley, 82, said the new pope, who grew up in the south suburban towns of Dolton and Riverdale, was “very gifted” as formation director, professor and manager of the Augustinians’ seminary project at the order’s mission in Trujillo, the third largest city in Peru, just south of Chulucanas. He said then-Father Prevost oversaw building the seminarians’ housing and chapel, and was “an excellent professor” whose students “loved him” at the major seminary, Colegio Seminario de San Carlos y San Marcelo in Trujillo.

Bishop Turley said he had no doubt Pope Leo XIV would work hard to promote world peace and to “do everything possible to respect the dignity of every human being.”

The bishop wrote out numbers on scraps of paper at his desk in the Midwest Augustinians’ pre-novitiate house at St. Rita Parish, and remarked that while they were both originally Chicago Southsiders, they each also became dual citizens of Peru.

“So yeah, he was about 33 years outside of the country” in Rome and Peru,” he said. “I was 56 years (in Mexico, then Peru) outside.”

Being both baseball fans from Chicago, he said they decided to forgo their town’s intense team rivalries, living so far away in Peru. They cheered both the White Sox and the Cubs.

Augustinian Father John Lydon, retired president of Catholic University of Trujillo, is now formator at his order’s theologate in Chicago, where the future Pope Leo had the same role. He lived with the new pope for 10 years when they both taught at the major seminary. They also were classmates at Villanova University near Philadelphia, where he said they would grab an occasional beer together.

Father Lydon said his good friend becoming pope was “great news!” He described Pope Leo, both as a priest and bishop, as being very personable and an intellectually gifted teacher, with great concern for the poor, especially in the part of Trujillo where they served.

Across the street from the Augustinian theologate in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood is the Catholic Theological Union, where Pope Leo studied before his priesthood. The outgoing president, Dominican Sister Barbara Reid beamed before a row of TV cameras at a news conference.

“We are overjoyed that someone who was formed initially for ministry here at Catholic Theological Union … that someone who is beloved and known to us is now the beloved leader of the whole, entire church,” she said. “And even others who are not Catholic claim the pope as their own.”

Outside Holy Name Cathedral downtown, a man who said he was Jewish took photos of the cathedral. He told OSV News he was “very happy” for Catholics and especially glad that Pope Leo XIV was a native Chicagoan.

The Archdiocese of Chicago’s vicar general, Bishop Lawrence J. Sullivan, told a news conference inside the cathedral that it was an exciting day for the church.

“Additionally, it’s a day of great excitement for Chicago, for the United States to have one of our own be elected as the pope, as the Holy Father,” he said.

Bishop Sullivan acknowledged that he did not know the new pope personally, but he knew of his “humble and very prayerful” way.

Longtime Chicago Southwest Side resident Imelda Salazar, a parishioner of the Augustinian-administrated St. Rita Parish, told OSV News she knows the new pope and has joined him for dinner hosted at a close friend’s house at least once a year over the past decade.

“I’m still digesting (the news),” said Salazar, 52. “But the first thing is, it’s one of us. I thought, what a pride, that he’s from the Southwest Side. He’s an Augustinian!”

Salazar is heavily involved in the grassroots Southwest Organizing Project, which has a goal to get Chicagoans involved in public leadership. She said, with Pope Leo XIV as head of the universal church, “It’s like, wow! Let’s really work with him to continue the legacy of Pope Francis on synodality, like let’s journey together as Catholics.”

Salazar said she met then-Bishop Prevost of Chiclayo, Peru, about nine years ago, when her friend, an Augustinian seminarian, was going to be ordained by him. She was struck by how “very, very welcoming” he was, and took a real interest in her community organizing work.

Bishop Turley said he “truly believes” the late Pope Francis had a hand in Pope Leo XIV becoming the next vicar of Christ through assigning him greater leadership roles in the church, ultimately making him prefect of the Holy See’s Dicastery for Bishops and a cardinal.

“Pope Francis really liked very much Cardinal Prevost. He’s the one who named him, ‘I want you to be bishop of Chiclayo, … I want you to come to Rome.’ That was all Pope Francis directly,” he said.

The bishop said he believes the late pope is in heaven, and he has no doubt his intercession had a hand in conclave.

“I think his first miracle is that the Holy Spirit moved the cardinals to choose Cardinal Prevost,” he said.

By Simone Orendain | OSV News

Peruvian President Dina Boluarte congratulated as a fellow citizen Pope Leo XIV, who previously headed the Diocese of Chiclayo in northern Peru before Pope Francis elevated him to cardinalate and then appointed him prefect for the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America in 2023.

“Today we celebrate a historic moment for Peru: the election of Cardinal Robert Prevost, a Peruvian citizen by choice and heart as the new Pope Leo XIV,” Boularte said after the pope’s May 8 election.

“This milestone marks not only the first time an American has ascended the throne of St. Peter, but also the first time a Peruvian, with more than 20 years of service in our land, has led the Catholic Church as Supreme Pontiff,” she added.

The pontiff worked for a decade in Trujillo (1988-1998) and was later appointed bishop of Chiclayo, where he served from 2014 to 2023. He became a Peruvian citizen in 2015, the president said.

“In our lands, he sowed hope, walked alongside the neediest, and shared the joys of our people. His opting for Peru was not merely formal, but profoundly spiritual and human. He chose to be one of us, to live among us, and to carry in his heart the faith, culture, and dreams of this nation,” Boluarte said.

The Peruvian bishops’ conference, meanwhile, remembered the new pope’s years of service in the South American country. The conference took pride in the pope’s first address, in which he spoke fondly of his former diocese and described Pope Leo XIV as “close, moderate and with a global vision,” while his pontificate “marks the beginning of a new stage for the Church.”

Bishops in Argentina, home to the first pope from the New World, Francis, broke out into applause while watching the announcement of the new pope from their plenary assembly.

“We accompany him with our prayers and affection, asking the Lord to strengthen him with the gifts of his Spirit to guide the Church in these times with wisdom, mercy, and an inescapable commitment to peace,” the Argentine Bishops’ Conference said in a statement.

Regional pride shone through in the congratulations for Pope Leo XIV — along with hopes he would advocate on behalf of the poor and migrants.

“I hope he becomes a great leader for migrant peoples around the world, and I hope he encourages our Latin American migrant brothers and sisters, humiliated today in the United States. It’s time for them to organize,” Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on social media. “May (his election) help us build the great force of humanity that defends life and defeats the greed that has caused the climate crisis and the extinction of all living things.”

“I hope he continues the legacy of Pope Francis, whose main virtues were the incessant search for peace and social justice, the defense of the environment, dialogue with all peoples and all religions, and respect for the diversity of human beings,” said Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, leader of the world’s most populous country.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, whose country has the world’s second-largest Catholic population, said the new pope favored “world peace and prosperity.”

Newly elected Prime Minister Mark Carney said, “Canada looks forward to working with His Holiness to build a world guided by solidarity, justice and sustainability.” Canadian media reported he planned to attend the pope’s inauguration.

Further afield, world leaders expressed hopes the new pope would work toward peace amid wars and a changing international order.

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni — who was close with Pope Francis — enthusiastically greeted the election of Pope Leo XIV. In a time marked by conflict and unrest, the pope invoked “peace which the world desperately needs and which you, from the Blessing Lodge, have invoked several times,” she wrote in a letter issued after the election of Pope Leo.

“We wish that his pontificate be guided by wisdom and strength, as he leads the Catholic community and inspires the world through his commitment to peace and dialogue,” said European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen.

“We look forward with hope and confidence to the opportunity to meet the Holy Father, to receive from him encouragement and guidance in our mission of dialogue with the institutions of the European Union,” Bishop Mariano Crociata, president of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union, said in a statement. “In an international context marked by a plurality of crises and common challenges, our desire is to walk a common path, to journey together, supporting the pontiff in his work.”

Polish President Andrzej Duda also praised the pope’s commitment to peace, saying, “Please accept the assurance of the readiness of the Republic of Poland to further strengthen these unique bonds — in the name of shared values, responsibility for the common good and the strengthening of peace in the world.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed hope the new pope would promote peace amid an ongoing war with Russia, saying “at this decisive moment for our country, we hope for the continued moral and spiritual support of the Vatican in Ukraine’s efforts to restore justice and achieve a lasting peace.” He added, “I wish His Holiness Leo XIV wisdom, inspiration, and strength — both spiritual and physical — in carrying out his noble mission.”

Relations between Russia and the Vatican became strained after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed optimism for improved relations, however, saying, “I am confident that the constructive dialogue and cooperation established between Russia and the Vatican will continue to develop on the basis of the Christian values that unite us.”

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog, meanwhile, spoke of “strengthening friendship between Jews and Christians in the Holy Land and around the world.” He continued, “may your papacy be one of building bridges and understanding between all faiths and peoples,” while adding, “may we see the immediate and safe return of the hostages still held in Gaza, and a new era of peace in our region and around the world.”

Bishops’ conferences around the world rejoiced in the election of Pope Leo XIV and prayed for wisdom throughout his papacy.

“Cardinal Prevost brought to his most recent role as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops an approachability and willingness to listen which were no doubt developed throughout his many years as an Augustinian missionary in Peru,” Archbishop Timothy Costelloe of Perth, president of the Australian bishops’ conference, said in a statement.

“As Pope Leo XIV, our new pope will bring the benefit of his wide experience to the many challenges and opportunities before him.”
The global chorus of goodwill underscores high expectations for a pope seen not only as a bridge-builder between hemispheres and faiths, but also as a shepherd shaped by service in the peripheries — now at the heart of the Catholic Church.

By David Agren | OSV News

On the second day of voting, two rounds of ballots were scheduled: the first two in the morning after Mass and a brief prayer at 9:30 a.m. and then another two, if needed, after 4 p.m.

Thick plumes of black smoke appeared from a chimney on top of the Sistine Chapel at 11:51 a.m. to indicate no winners emerged during the morning session. A quick burst of applause broke out among the crowds that had gathered in the square when the smoke began to appear. An estimated 15,000 people were present.

A brief moment of confusion occurred when the black smoke died down and small wisps of white smoke came trailing out the chimney. White smoke as well as the triumphant ringing of the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica will signal that a pope has been elected. The bells instead were slowly ringing that it was noon.

While visitors hoping to see white smoke were disappointed, some were still thrilled to be there, including Tiffany and Brian from New York, who told Catholic News Service they were “happy enough to see just one” election result.

They had planned a vacation to Rome three months ago and were looking forward to seeing the Sistine Chapel. “But historically speaking, it’s just a privilege to be here. It’s really cool.”

When asked what kind of pope he would like to see, Brian, a Catholic, said the church and the world need “someone who can bring us all together,” which is already “the nature of the pope.”

“But, we need just leadership, I think, from all aspects: in Catholicism and in all levels of the world right now,” he said.

Kayla and Mohamed, a couple from the U.S. state of Virginia, said they had planned their trip to Rome in August 2024. Kayla, who said she was raised Catholic, said she was grateful to be in Rome at an “unprecedented time in history.”

“I’m actually trying to FaceTime my grandma, who is a devout Catholic. So, it’s very cool!” she said.

When asked who should succeed Pope Francis, Mohammed told CNS it should be someone similar to the late Pope Francis “with a similar message” because “the world is currently viewing things (in a way that is) quite opposite of that.”

After what was the cardinals’ third ballot for choosing who will be the 266th successor of Peter or the 267th pope, they broke for lunch and were expected to return to the Sistine Chapel at 4 p.m. to resume voting.

Pope Benedict XVI was elected on the fourth ballot of the 2005 conclave and Pope Francis was elected on the fifth ballot of the conclave in 2013.

The cardinal electors have been sequestered from the outside world, without internet access or cellphones, since 5:45 p.m. May 7 after they processed into the Sistine Chapel and the doors were closed. They listened to a meditation by 90-year-old Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa and cast the first ballot of the conclave. Black smoke appeared at 9 p.m. local time. An estimated 45,000 people were gathered in the square.

With the largest number of cardinal electors ever to vote in a conclave, and therefore the most votes to count, the black smoke arrived two hours later than the expected 7 p.m. Rome time.

While only one ballot was cast on the first day of the conclave, up to four ballots are cast each day after that. If, after three days of voting, they have not elected anyone, the cardinals can take a maximum of one day off for prayer and informal discussion.

By Carol Glatz | Catholic News Service

“Today’s world expects much from the church regarding the safeguarding of those fundamental human and spiritual values without which human coexistence will not be better nor bring good to future generations,” Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the college, said in his homily.

He prayed that Mary would intercede, and the Holy Spirit would enlighten the cardinal electors “and help them agree on the pope that our time needs.”

The Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica May 7 was the last public event before 133 cardinals from 71 countries were to enter the Sistine Chapel to elect the 267th pope and Pope Francis’ successor. Only cardinals under the age of 80 were eligible to enter the conclave.

Cardinal Re, 91, presided over the Mass “Pro Eligendo Romano Pontifice” (“for the election of the Roman pontiff”) with some 220 other cardinals, including those who would be entering the conclave that afternoon. The prayers and readings made frequent reference to the need to choose a good pastor.

At the start of the Mass, as the choir sang verses of joy and thanks to the Lord from the Psalms, the cardinals processed up the main aisle of the basilica, wearing red vestments.

They listened as Cardinal Re, who headed the Vatican’s then-Congregation for Bishops and the Pontifical Commission for Latin America from 2000 to 2010, underlined the seriousness of the task before them and the qualities every pope — the successor of St. Peter — must embody.

“We are here to invoke the help of the Holy Spirit, to implore his light and strength,” he said, “so that the pope elected may be he whom the church and humanity need at this difficult and complex and tormented turning point in history.”

“To pray, by invoking the Holy Spirit, is the only right and proper attitude to take as the cardinal electors prepare to undertake an act of the highest human and ecclesial responsibility and to make a choice of exceptional importance,” he said.

“This is a human act for which every personal consideration must be set aside, keeping in mind and heart only the God of Jesus Christ and the good of the church and of humanity,” the cardinal warned.

Jesus gave his disciples a “new” commandment, “that you love one another as I have loved you,” he said; that kind of love is one so great and boundless that it includes laying down one’s life for one’s friends.

All of his Jesus’ disciples must always show his same “authentic love in their behavior and commit themselves to building a new civilization” of love, he said, because “love is the only force capable of changing the world.”

This kind of love can be surprising, he said, like when Jesus humbly washed the feet of the apostles, “without discrimination, and not excluding Judas, who would betray him.”

In fact, the fundamental quality of a shepherd “is love to the point of complete self-giving,” Cardinal Re said.

The pre-conclave Mass and its readings invited the world’s cardinals “to fraternal love, to mutual help and to commitment to ecclesial communion and universal human fraternity,” he said.

The shepherd of the universal church has numerous responsibilities, Cardinal Re said, including fostering communion: “communion of all Christians with Christ; communion of the bishops with the pope; communion of the bishops among themselves”; and a communion “that is entirely directed toward communion among persons, peoples and cultures.”

“This is also a strong call to maintain the unity of the church on the path traced out by Christ to the apostles,” he said. This unity “does not mean uniformity, but a firm and profound communion in diversity provided that full fidelity to the Gospel is always maintained.”

“Let us pray, then, that the Holy Spirit, who in the last hundred years has given us a series of truly holy and great pontiffs, will give us a new pope according to God’s heart for the good of the church and of humanity,” the cardinal said.

“Let us pray that God will grant the church a pope who knows how best to awaken the consciences of all and awaken the moral and spiritual energies in today’s society, characterized by great technological progress but which tends to forget God,” he said.

Cardinal Re reminded the cardinal electors that as they sit praying and voting in the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo’s “image of Jesus the judge” would be “looming” over them.

In a poem St. John Paul II expressed his hope “that during the hours of voting on this weighty decision,” that image would remind them of “the greatness of the responsibility of placing the ‘supreme keys’ in the correct hands,” he said.

Some five hours after the opening Mass, the cardinals were to process into the Sistine Chapel, swear an oath to uphold the conclave rules, listen to a final reflection and — if they chose to do so — conduct the first ballot.

The cardinals had been meeting almost daily for two weeks to discuss the practical affairs of the papal transition period, the challenges faced by the church and to consider potential candidates for the papacy.

By Carol Glatz | Catholic News Service