In a signal of continuity, Pope Francis’s successor didn’t wear the papal red velvet loafers to his inaugural Mass before cardinals Friday at the Sistine Chapel.

Francis’s 69-year-old successor is the first U.S.-born pope in the 2,000-year history of the Roman Catholic Church, which has grown to 1.4 billion strong.

Americans in St. Peter’s square were stunned and joyous when they learned that an American cardinal, Robert Provost, was elected pope and had taken the name Leo XIV.

After white smoke rose out of the Sistine Chapel’s chimney in Vatican City, the bells from the Church of the Little Flower in Coral Gables and other churches in South Florida started tolling.

At 3 p.m., black smoke rose above the Sistine Chapel in Rome, signaling that the first vote did not produce a new pope.

Growing numbers of people are making bets on next week’s conclave to elect the next pope.

The Vatican is grieving the first head of the Catholic Church from the Americas and Saturday marks the beginning of the Novendiales, nine days of mourning. It also marks the fifth day of national mourning in Italy.

Pope Francis has made a surprise entrance to St. Peter’s Square during a special Jubilee Mass for the sick and medical workers in his first public appearance at the Vatican since leaving the hospital.

Pope Francis was hospitalized on Feb. 14, after suffering a bout of bronchitis for weeks and after increasingly finding it hard to speak publicly.

In South Florida, Catholics attended mass at churches in greater numbers to commemorate Ash Wednesday, which marks the first day of Lent, a 40-day season of prayer, fasting, and charity before Easter on April 20.

The Vatican says Pope Francis suffered a coughing fit that resulted in him breathing in vomit, requiring non-invasive mechanical ventilation.

Jordan Pope hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Oregon State an 83-80 victory over No. 9 Arizona on Thursday night, with the Beavers’ fans storming the court to celebrate the upset.

Pope Francis has used his Christmas Day address to pray for an end to the coronavirus pandemic.

A Florida man’s hunt for the perfect backpack for his daughter led to a nearly $1 million payout.

FILE - In this 1979 file photo, Pope John Paul II, left, poses with Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who was elected Pope on April 19, 2005 and chose Benedict XVI as his papal name. Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI is honoring St. John Paul II on the centenary of his birth and floating the idea that he should be called the Great, as only two other popes have been. (AP Photo/File)WARSAW St. John Paul II was honored on the centennial of his birth Monday with special Masses at the Vatican and in his native Poland, an anniversary that comes as the Polish church finds itself confronted by new allegations of clerical sex abuse. Celebrating the memory of Saint John Paul II lets remember this: The Lord loves his people, he visited his people, he sent a shepherd.To Poles, John Paul is best remembered for using the papacy to shake the foundations of an oppressive communist system that was toppled across Eastern Europe 11 years into his papacy. And that issue has also been on people's minds in recent days because of a new documentary exposing alleged sex abuse in Poland's church.

CNN, Vatican TVVATICAN CITY - The Pope wants us to stop using so many adjectives. In a speech on Monday to the Dicastery for Communications, the Vatican's communications authority, Pope Francis urged people not to describe Christianity with qualifiers and adjectives. "We have fallen into the culture of adjectives and adverbs, and we have forgotten the strength of nouns," he said. The term "Christian" is strong and authentic enough as it is, without the need for adjectives, he said. He's also active on Twitter, and even tweeted out a reminder on Wednesday to "call people by their name, as the Lord does with us, and to give up using adjectives."