All Things Considered

As the conclave begins, a look at Minnesota's changing Catholic Church

Clergy members walk
Clergy members lead a procession during a Mass to honor the passing of Pope Francis at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul on April 21.
Stephen Maturen for MPR News

Catholic cardinals have begun their conclave to elect a new pope.

The first vote ended in black smoke billowing out of the Sistine Chapel chimney into the early evening sky in Rome — signaling no new Pope has been elected.

The next Pope will shape decades of church doctrine. The Catholic Church looks different after Pope Francis’s tenure. Minnesota’s Catholic congregation looks different, too.

MPR News host Tom Crann spoke to Daniel Cueto-Villalobos, a Ph.D. candidate in Sociology at the University of Minnesota, who studies the role of the Catholic church locally and nationally.

For the full conversation, click play on the audio player above.