Thick black smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel’s chimney, signalling that cardinals sealed off inside were unsuccessful in electing a new pope in their first conclave vote. Tens of thousands of people gathered in Vatican City’s St Peter’s Square to wait for the smoke, which arose about three hours after the 133 Cardinals were sequestered. They had not come to a two-thirds agreement on who the next pope should be.
First Round of Electing New Pope Unsuccessful
The process of choosing a new pope is beginning. However, a total of 133 cardinals were unable to reach a unanimous decision. U.S. President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself dressed in papal robes on his Truth Social platform, not too long before the Vatican began the process.
They will vote four times a day moving forward until a candidate for the papacy wins a two-thirds majority. If the next gathering for the vote is unsuccessful, they will vote again immediately. After that, they can vote twice in the afternoon, and there can be two votes each in the morning and the afternoon in the following days. Rome anticipates this moment, as Pope Francis passed away at 88 on Easter.
He passed away due to a stroke and irreversible heart failure. Pope Francis’ death was confirmed and announced by the Pope’s Chamberlain (Camerlengo), Irish-American Cardinal Kevin Farrell. Following this, Cardinal Ferrell sealed the home and destroyed the lead seal and ring. The seal is used to authenticate and confirm official documents. The camerlengo also gathers the conclave to elect the new successor.
It has only happened twice where the camerlengo became the pope: Gioacchino Pecci (Leo XIII) in 1878 and Eugenio Pacelli (Pius XII) in 1939. The funeral occurred at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, and dozens of world leaders attended the funeral. The crowds had to wait as it took longer than expected for the black smoke to appear, and it was an hour more than it took for smoke to appear after the 2013 conclave elected the late Pope Francis.
White smoke will arise when a successor is chosen, and modern papal conclaves are typically short. 2013’s conclave lasted only two days, the same as 2005 when Francis’ predecessor, Benedict XVI, was elected. Cardinals have offered different views and assessments on what they look for in the next pontiff who’ll lead the 1.4 billion-member Church. Along with this news, President Trump refused to back down on making Canada a 51st state.
Final Thoughts
While some call to continue Francis’ vision for the world going forward, others seek to turn back the clock and reestablish old traditions. Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, 91, told his fellow prelates in a sermon ahead of the conclave that they must put aside “every personal consideration” in electing a new pope. Some ultra-conservatives have ripped Francis as a heretic, accusing him of being too accommodating to Muslims and Protestants, and too open on many topics, including offering communion to divorced individuals. In other news, Trump has sparked debate on his position on his Alcatraz proposal,
