VATICAN CITY, May 8 (Alliance News) – Thick black smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday evening, indicating an inconclusive first vote in the secretive conclave of 133 cardinal electors tasked with choosing a new pope for the Roman Catholic Church.
Thousands of pilgrims and onlookers packed into St. Peter’s Square, anxiously watching the chapel’s flue as they waited for a signal. The smoke finally appeared more than three hours after the conclave began – a longer wait than during the first ballot of the 2013 conclave that elected Pope Francis.
The emergence of black smoke, rather than white, confirmed what many had expected: no pontiff was elected on the opening day. In modern times, no pope has been selected in the first round of voting.
Cardinals will resume deliberations on Thursday with two rounds of voting in the morning and two more in the afternoon. To be elected, a candidate must secure at least two-thirds of the votes – or 89 votes among the current electors, all under the age of 80.
The conclave follows the death of Pope Francis last month, whose 12-year papacy left a complex legacy marked by reform and internal divisions. Some cardinals are seeking continuity with Francis’ vision of openness and inclusivity, while others are hoping to return to a more traditional model of leadership.
In his pre-conclave sermon, 91-year-old Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, ineligible to vote due to age, urged the electors to put aside personal preferences and choose a leader committed to “the good of the Church and of humanity.” He emphasized that “unity does not mean uniformity,” highlighting the need for the next pope to respect internal diversity.
The conclave features the most geographically diverse group in the Church’s history, with 133 electors from 70 nations – a reflection of Pope Francis’ efforts to globalize the Church hierarchy.
There is no clear frontrunner yet. However, Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle are among the top names discussed. Other possible candidates include Jean-Marc Aveline of France, Peter Erdo of Hungary, Robert Prevost of the United States, and Italy’s Pierbattista Pizzaballa.
Speculation continues about whether the new pope will come from the Global South, as with Francis from Argentina, or whether the conclave will return leadership to Europe or possibly choose the first American pope.
As tradition dictates, the cardinals remain completely secluded, with their only communication with the outside world being the color of the smoke from the chimney. Ballots are burned with special chemicals to produce black smoke when no decision is reached and white smoke when a new pope is elected.
