Pope to release album to spread the word

Electing a successor to Benedict XVI will involve a centuries-old procedure steeped in secrecy that will offer few signals about the identity of the 266th pope until white smoke wafts over St. Peter’s Square. Only the 117 of the 210 members of College of Cardinals under the age of 80 have the right to vote in the conclave, which will assemble in the Basilica of Saint Peter’s after Benedict’s resignation on Feb. 28. The Vatican today said it wants to elect a new pope by Easter, which falls on March 31.

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis put his humility on display during his first day as pontiff Thursday, stopping by his hotel to pick up his luggage and pay the bill himself in a decidedly different style of papacy than his tradition-minded predecessor, who tended to stay ensconced in the frescoed halls of the Vatican.

VATICAN CITY  — Pope Benedict XVI promised his “unconditional reverence and obedience” to his successor in his final words to cardinals Thursday, a poignant and powerful farewell delivered hours before he becomes the first pope in 600 years to resign. In an unexpected speech inside the Vatican’s frescoed Clementine Hall, the pontiff appeared to be trying to defuse concerns about possible conflicts arising from the peculiar situation of having both a reigning pope and a retired one.

VATICAN CITY — Black smoke is billowing from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, meaning Roman Catholic cardinals have not elected a pope in their second or third rounds of balloting. Cardinals voted twice Wednesday in Michelangelo’s famed frescoed chapel after a first vote Tuesday in a conclave to elect a successor to Benedict XVI, who stunned the Catholic world last month by becoming the first pope in 600 years to resign.

VATICAN CITY — Black smoke is billowing from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, meaning Roman Catholic cardinals have not elected a pope in their second or third rounds of balloting. Cardinals voted twice Wednesday in Michelangelo’s famed frescoed chapel after a first vote Tuesday in a conclave to elect a successor to Benedict XVI, who stunned the Catholic world last month by becoming the first pope in 600 years to resign.

As the leaders of the world’s largest non-governmental organization convene to elect a new leader, the papal conclave will likely swirl with all the meaty intrigue of any other leadership election: Rival factions, dark horse candidates and 11th hour backroom deals. Not that the public has any idea, of course: The electors are sworn to secrecy, the votes are held behind stone walls and, officially, there are not even declared candidates. In fact, most cardinals have spent the preceding weeks talking about how little they want the job.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The pomp surrounding his selection was just the beginning of an exceptionally busy few days for Pope Francis.

VATICAN CITY — Breaking with tradition, Pope Francis delivered off-the-cuff remarks about God’s power to forgive instead of reading from a written speech for the first Sunday window appearance of his papacy. He also spoke only in Italian – beginning with “buon giorno” (Good day) and ending with “buon pranzo” (Have a good lunch) – instead of greeting the faithful in several languages as his last few predecessors had done.