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Black smoke ascended from the Sistine Chapel’s chimney on Wednesday, indicating that the initial round of voting in the papal conclave was unsuccessful in electing a new pope.
Maintaining a centuries-old tradition, 133 cardinal electors gathered at the Vatican to initiate the selection of the 267th leader of the Catholic Church following Pope Francis’s passing last month.
The day began with a solemn mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, officiated by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, who had also overseen the conclave in 2013 that resulted in Francis’s election. Subsequently, the cardinal electors met in the Pauline Chapel before proceeding to the Sistine Chapel, where the conclave is underway.
The Sistine Chapel, adorned with Michelangelo’s renowned frescoes, will remain closed to the outside world until a new pope is appointed.
According to the conclave rules, a two-thirds majority is necessary to elect the new pontiff.
This year’s conclave continues a practice that dates back to 1492, the same year the Sistine Chapel hosted its inaugural papal election and Christopher Columbus reached the Americas.
While selecting a pope used to take years, as seen in the mid-1200s, more recent elections have been completed relatively quickly. In 2013, Francis was elected after five votes over two days.
Pope Francis passed away on April 21 at the age of 88, after suffering from a series of health issues, including cardiac arrest.
Voting in the conclave will continue on Thursday as the church anticipates the announcement of its new leader.
If a new pope is chosen, white smoke will emerge from the chimney, and the cardinal protodeacon will declare, from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, the phrase “habemus papam” (Latin for “we have a pope”).
