Secrets of the conclave

04 March 2026, The Tablet

Swiss guards parade in St Peter’s Square on the second day of the conclave, 8 May 2025

Alamy/Godong

A way to tell the story of the Catholic Church over time is through those drama-packed intervals between papacies that end in the intensity of the conclave.

It is surprising how much of ‘the world’s most secretive election’ we get to know about.

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