Will they or won’t they? That was the question gripping the Catholic faithful Thursday as cardinals tasked with choosing a new pope retreated into the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel to resume voting for a new church leader.
A plume of black smoke rose over the crowds thronging St Peter’s Square late Wednesday, confirming the conclave’s first ballot lacked a two-thirds majority to name a successor to the late Pope Francis, as Breitbart News reported.
One hundred and thirty-three Roman Catholic cardinals from 66 countries, known as “Princes of the Church,” subsequently spent the night sequestered in the Santa Marta guesthouse, and were to seek divine inspiration at private mass early Thursday before embarking on a second day of voting, AFP notes.
Of the sequestered churchmen, 52 hail from Europe, 23 Asia, 17 South or Central America, 17 Africa, 20 North America, and four Oceania.
If Thursday morning’s first secret ballot fails again to identify a clear winner from the crowded pack, a second vote will be held. If there is no consensus again, two more votes will be held in the afternoon.
The cardinals will remain locked behind closed doors and cut off from the world until the newly elected 267th pontiff has a clear blessing to lead the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.
The chosen elite are sworn to secrecy about the centuries-old process under threat of excommunication.
AFP reports in practice, the previous two conclaves – the 2005 election of Benedict XVI and of Francis in 2013 – lasted upwards of 48-hours.
Nuns pray and wait for white smoke from the Sistine Chapel chimney indicating Cardinals have elected a new Pope in St. Peter’s Square on May 7, 2025 in Vatican City, Vatican. (Laura Lezza/Getty Images)
Journalists work at St Peter’s Square with the St Peter’s basilica in the background, ahead of the second voting session of the conclave, in the Vatican on May 8, 2025. (DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images)
In the 20th and 21st centuries, conclaves have never lasted longer than five days, as was the case for Pope Pius XI’s election in 1922, which required 14 ballots.
Locked away to avoid distraction and leaks, their only means of communicating the outcome of their votes is by burning their ballots with chemicals to produce smoke.
It is black if there is no decision, or white if they have chosen a new pope.
If a pope has not been selected by Saturday afternoon, the cardinals will take Sunday off for prayer, quiet reflection and informal discussion.
AFP contributed to this report
Follow Simon Kent on Twitter: Follow @SunSimonKent or e-mail to: skent@breitbart.com
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