The cardinals electing a new pope to lead the Roman Catholic Church left the Sistine Chapel exhausted and hungry. A meditation to start the conclave had dragged on and pushed their first vote deep into Wednesday evening. It had resulted in an …

The new head of the Catholic church is a tennis fan. Within the walls of Vatican City, he will find his own court to play on.

In his advocacy of the poor, migrants and a more open church, many people see the new pope as a continuation of his predecessor.

While younger cardinals are busy choosing the new pope in a series of votes in Vatican City, older cardinals — those age 80 and over who are not allowed to vote — are mostly waiting it out like the rest of us. But many of them attended the meetings …

The cardinals selecting the next pope will take their meals at a Vatican guesthouse. One conclave veteran said the fare was “food you could eat at a train station.”

Six are joining in their first papal conclave, and four others participated in the 2013 conclave that elected Pope Francis.