VATICAN CITY (AP) - The Vatican says Pope Francis has paid a visit to the tomb of Peter, the church's first pontiff, who is buried beneath St. Peter's Basilica.

VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Pope Francis is making an Easter Sunday peace plea, saying conflicts have lasted too long in Syria, and between Israelis and Palestinians.

VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Francis has urged princes, presidents, sheikhs and thousands of ordinary people gathered for his installation Mass to protect God's creation, the weakest and the poorest of the world.

VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Francis has officially begun his ministry as the 266th pope, receiving the ring symbolizing the papacy and a wool stole symbolizing his role as shepherd of his 1.2-billion strong flock.

VATICAN CITY (AP) -- The Vatican says Pope Francis won't be calling on his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday, but would see him another day.

VATICAN CITY (AP) -- The Vatican says the new pope's official name is Pope Francis, without a Roman numeral.

VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Francis, the name the new pope has chosen, is a much-beloved Italian saint who is identified with peace, poverty and a simple lifestyle.

VATICAN CITY (AP) - Argentine Jorge Bergoglio has been elected pope, the first ever from the Americas and the first from outside Europe in more than a millennium. He chose the name Pope Francis. Video

VATICAN CITY (AP) - Black smoke is billowing from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, meaning Roman Catholic cardinals have not elected a pope in their second or third rounds of balloting.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Papal Conclave isn't the only gathering of powerful Catholic leaders shrouded in secrecy. The church is flexing big lobbying muscles in Washington D.C., and doing, at least some of it, under the cloak of darkness. Video