Vatican City: Catholic cardinals have returned to the Sistine Chapel for a second day of voting in an effort to elect a new pope after the first ballot on Wednesday evening resulted in black smoke, indicating no decision had been made. The 133 cardinals will cast their votes again on Thursday morning after spending the night sequestered at the Vatican residences.
The cardinals are bound by an oath of secrecy as they take part in the centuries-old ritual to choose a new leader for the 1.4 billion-member Catholic Church. To be elected pope, a cardinal must secure a two-thirds majority, requiring 89 votes. This conclave marks the most geographically diverse in the Church’s 2,000-year history.
As the second day of the conclave begins, many faithful hope that a new pope will be elected soon. The first vote on Wednesday evening disappointed crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square, as they had been eagerly anticipating the appearance of white smoke to signal the election of a new pope. Instead, the dark smoke sent the crowd dispersing, their hopes delayed for at least another day.
Some onlookers, like 63-year-old Costanza Ranaldi from Pescara, Italy, remained hopeful, acknowledging that the cardinals likely needed more time to reach a decision. "They probably need more time," Ranaldi said, while 26-year-old Chiara Pironi, a Rome resident, expressed her determination to return to St. Peter's Square daily until the election was finalized. "I don’t want to miss that moment," she added.
There’s an Italian proverb often heard in Rome during papal conclaves: "He who enters the conclave as pope leaves as a cardinal." The saying serves as a reminder of the unpredictable nature of the election process, cautioning against overconfidence among frontrunners. In the secrecy of the Sistine Chapel, decisions are made behind locked doors, and surprises are common—even for experienced Vatican watchers.
As the cardinals retired for the night, they left behind the smoke billowing from the Sistine Chapel chimney, signaling that the first round of voting had not yet produced a pope. The conclave had begun some four hours earlier when the 133 cardinals entered the Sistine Chapel, took their oaths of secrecy, and formally initiated the centuries-old process of selecting a successor to Pope Francis.
With PTI inputs