VATICAN CITY (AP) — The death of a pope sets in motion a series of carefully orchestrated rites and rituals well before the conclave to elect his successor begins. They involve the certification of ...

Among the changes in the new edition, according to Vatican News, is the elimination of the use of three coffins of cyprus, lead, and oak, and the possibility for a deceased pope to be buried outside ...

Researchers have shed fascinating new light on the unusual practice of permanent body modification during the Viking Age, which in some cases, may have been practiced as a "rite of initiation". It was ...

Pope Francis has made significant changes to the funeral rites that will be observed upon his death, streamlining the rituals to reflect his role as a bishop rather than focusing on his papal status.

The death of a pope sets in motion a series of carefully orchestrated rites and rituals well before the conclave to elect his successor begins. They involve the certification of death and public ...

In Kenya, the prevalence of female genital mutilation has dropped by 24.2 percentage points where an alternative rite of passage is being tried. Why an intrepid trio went to the Isle of Eigg armed ...

The death of a pope sets in motion a series of carefully orchestrated rites and rituals well before the conclave to elect his successor begins. VATICAN CITY — The death of a pope sets in motion a ...