The unvirginal hands of a gay man decorated the walls and ceilings the most famous church in the world: the Sistine Chapel.

Catholic cardinals who will choose the next pope filed into the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday, before locking themselves away ...

But behind the ethereal sound of the castrato singers lay an unspeakable truth. To preserve the high, angelic tone of boyhood, thousands of young boys were castrated.

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Pope Leo XIV, right, stands in the Sistine Chapel among cardinals after being elected at the Vatican on May 8, 2025. He ...

White smoke poured from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel and the great bells of St. Peter's Basilica tolled Thursday after cardinals elected the 267th pope to lead the Catholic Church on the second ...

The Sistine Chapel is the second most visited museum in the world, but until a new pope is announced, it is a site cloaked in secrecy. The historic Vatican chapel's doors are now open only to the ...

The Sistine Chapel has witnessed every papal election since 1492 with only five exceptions, and it is preparing to once again host the conclave. The 133 cardinal electors, meeting behind closed ...

The cardinals are voting inside the Sistine Chapel, but the seagulls have the high ground. As the world watches the conclave, underway inside the Sistine Chapel, seagulls perched atop the roof ...

The cardinals are sealed inside the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City for the conclave to elect a new pope — but no winner emerged Wednesday night as black smoke billowed up from the Sistine Chapel ...

on the afternoon of May 7, Archbishop Diego Ravelli will order all but the cardinal electors who will choose the next pope to leave the Sistine Chapel. After a brief reflection offered by Cardinal ...