Holy Smokes! Twitter's Funniest Pope Reactions

Francis’s Inaugural Mass

Alessandro Di Meo/EPA, via Landov

Vatican Pope

It’s official: we have a pope! Pope Francis held his inaugural mass on Tuesday with up to one million pilgrims—including Joe Biden and Robert Mugabe—in the Vatican....

Andrew Medichini/AP

Priests line up in St. Peter's Square.

Natacha Pisarenko/AP

Hundreds of faithful watch Pope Francis' installation Mass on a big screen outside the Metropolitan Cathedral.

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Photos from Pope Francis’s inaugural mass.

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Cover It Live

Papal Inauguration: Live Updates From Rome!

Follow our reporters Barbie Latza Nadeau and Christopher Dickey in Rome as Pope Francis takes over. See tweets, photos, and videos.

viva la papa

All About the Pope

Not Your Average Pope

As 200,000 cheered on, Pope Francis was inaugurated in a glitzy Vatican City ceremony this morning.

by Barbie Latza Nadeau

EXPLAINER

15 Biggest Pope Scandals

Pool photo by Alessandra Tarantino

Benedict XVI Resigns, 2013

Benedict’s resignation came as a real shock—he’s the first pope to resign in nearly 600 years, with the last resignation being Gregory XII, who stepped down in 1415 to end a church schism....

Patricia McDonnel/AP

Pedophilia in the American Church, 2001-present

There were always the whispers about American Catholic priests sexually abusing children—with one bishop apparently warning of the consequences as far back as the 1950s—but the church’s role in covering up the abuse came to light...

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Vatican Commission Endorses Birth Control—Then Pope Takes It Back, 1960s

The Catholic Church and birth control have had a long, complicated relationship....

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How does Pope Benedict’s resignation rank among the Vatican’s most embarrassing scandals?

Pope Gives God Three Weeks' Notice

Shocking the Vatican and Catholics around the world Monday, Pope Benedict XVI announced that he would resign the papacy at the end of February, becoming the first Pope to do so since 1415. Take a look back at his 2005 election.

Scandal Sheet

Remember VatiLeaks?

The Pope’s Posse

Francis has assembled an advisory team hell-bent on fixing the church. By Barbie Latza Nadeau.

EXPLAINER

Explainer

Habemus Papam

Dirty War

Good Egg

Habemus Papam

Power Players

Religious Reform