I arrived in Rome in the rain, grateful for the end of a long, bumpy flight. Though tempted to kiss the ground, mimicking Blessed John Paul II’s customary arrival gesture, I opted not to; in my case, rather than an act of pious humility, it would have been an act of desperate relief. My fellow

Good day from Rome the first day of the pontificate of Pope Francis It rsquo s a very ordinary Thursday here one would never know that a little less than 24 hours ago the city was a frenzy of tears cheers smiles and prayers The rain fell hard last night as what seemed like half of Italy made

It is a bit after Roman 13:00 on Day 2 of the Papal Conclave of 2013. As you undoubtedly know, both ballots were burned at approximately 11:40 a.m. local time (some commentators think that the smoke coming twenty minutes earlier than expected meant something; I am not convinced that there’s a ‘there’ there. And if there were, how could we possibly know what it is?) In any event, the smoke was black. Really black. It is difficult to see on television, but I can attest to the fact that the smoke is, indeed, quite dark and thick; it looks as if the Sistine Chapel is on fire. Saint Peter’s Square was not packed for the billows, owing mainly to the rain and the remote probability that this morning’s smoke would be white. Even the election of Joseph Ratzinger in 2005 took until the afternoon of the second day and most of the cardinals knew going into the conclave that Ratzinger was the man to beat.

I have received a number of your questions via Twitter Thanks for sending sending them in We will get to as many of them as we can in the days ahead You can send your questions to americaeditor Among our questions today nbsp ldquo How many non-cardinals are in the Sistine Chapel during the vot

Italian weathermen forecast a ninety percent chance of rain today, the first day of the papal conclave of 2013. I can assure you that nothing else about this event is anywhere near that certain. Sources close to the Cardinal-electors confirm what most of the world already knows: no one man has anything approaching the two-thirds of support (77 votes) he will need to ascend to the chair of Saint Peter. Virtually no one expects a decision today. Still, this has been a month of surprises, in an ancient city that is, by its own admission, not entirely comfortable with them.

I arrived in Rome in the rain grateful for the end of a long bumpy flight Though tempted to kiss the ground mimicking Blessed John Paul II rsquo s customary arrival gesture I opted not to in my case rather than an act of pious humility it would have been an act of desperate relief My fellow

The expression “people of God,” then, is a summons to unity, a symbol of the one body of Christ.

Living as I do in a very large, fragile glass house, I am reluctant to throw stones.

nbsp America is pleased to announced the naming of John Carr as our new Washington Correspondent Mr Carr whose first column will appear in the March 11 issue will offer regular analysis and commentary in print and online on key issues and events in the nation rsquo s capital His print column

Questioning Garry Wills' unorthodox views on the Eucharist