VATICAN CITY: Thick black smoke emerged on Wednesday (May 7) from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel in a sign that cardinals had failed to elect a new head of the Catholic Church in their first conclave vote.
Tens of thousands of people gathered in St Peter’s Square to await the smoke, which came around three hours and 15 minutes after the 133 cardinals were closed in.
The prelates will now withdraw to the Santa Marta guesthouse, where they are staying for the election, before starting to vote again on Thursday.
Cardinals were called back to Rome following the death of Pope Francis on Apr 21 after 12 years as head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.
Under a centuries-old ritual, those aged under 80 vote in secrecy in the Sistine Chapel until one of them secures a two-thirds majority – 89 votes – to be elected pope.
Locked away to avoid distraction, their only means of communicating the outcome is by burning their ballots with chemicals to produce smoke.
It is black if there is no decision, white if they have a new pope.
This conclave is the largest and the most international ever, assembling cardinals from around 70 countries, many of whom did not previously know each other.
There is no clear frontrunner to succeed the charismatic Argentine Francis, with the cardinals representing a range of progressive and conservative traditions within the Church.
But the challenges facing the 2,000-year-old institution are clear.
The new pope will have to face diplomatic balancing acts at a time of geopolitical uncertainty, as well as deep splits within the Church.
There is also the continued fallout from the clerical child abuse scandal and – in the West – increasingly empty pews.
WAITING FOR THE SMOKE
The start of the conclave, with a solemn procession of cardinals and other clergy into the Sistine Chapel, was streamed live on large screens in front of St Peter’s Basilica.
As night fell, the crowds swelled, including many young people and children. Some sang hymns while others danced, while one young woman showed off her black miniature poodle dressed as the pope.
The screens went black at 9pm local time, eliciting groans from the crowds, minutes before the black smoke was spotted wafting from the chimney, bringing on a new wave of disappointed reaction.
Still, James Kleineck, 37, from Texas, said he was “excited” to witness the unique event.
“I don’t mind that it’s black smoke, it shows the Holy Spirit is at work. There will be other votes soon enough, we will get our pope,” he told AFP.
