White smoke has finally risen from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel – indicating that cardinals have elected a new pope on the second and final day of conclave.
Cheering crowds – though modest in size compared to last night’s gathering – were seen waiting outside in St Peter’s Square as they waited to discover who had been elected as the next pope.
Hailing from 70 different countries, the 133-strong group of cardinals gathered in the Vatican for the centuries-old ritual to elect the 267th pontiff following the death of Pope Francis last month.
Last night’s first round of voting prompted groans around the square after black smoke was seen rising from the chimney, indicating no result had been reached.
Black smoke was also seen this morning, showing the second round had, equally, not yielded a result.
Following the third vote, no smoke appeared at all, indicating no one had been elected by 4.30pm.
Up to four votes a day can take place from then, two in the morning and two in the afternoon, with white smoke confirming a new pope has been chosen.
It was unlikely that the cardinals would come to a consensus with the first few votes, given that previous elections have taken a number of days.
The longest conclave in history was almost three years, when Pope Gregory X was elected.
The shortest lasted just 10 hours and ended with the election of Pope Julius II in 1503.
In recent history the next leader of the Catholic Church has usually been elected within two or three days.
But the outcome this time round was reached within 24 hours, indicating that many cardinals united around a clear favourite.
The first two or three rounds of voting are generally seen as a ‘jockeying’ for position, and it is usually not until later rounds that a winner comes forward.
Of the 252 living cardinals, 138 are under 80 and therefore eligible to vote in the conclave.
16 are based in North America, 54 in Europe, 24 in Asia, 4 in Central America, 18 in South America and 4 in Oceania.
To emerge as the next pontiff, one man needs to secure a two-thirds majority, or 89 ballots.
The frontrunner was thought to be Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, 67, from the Philippines, who would have been the first Asian pope.
Pietro Parolin, the current secretary of state for the Vatican, was also considered to be a leading candidate.
The voting cardinals were yesterday urged to ‘invoke the help of the Holy Spirit’ to help them elect a pope ‘whom the Church and humanity need at this difficult and complex turning point in history’.
They started the process by attending a special mass in St Peter’s Basilica where senior cardinal Giovanni Battista Re urged those voting to set aside ‘every personal consideration’ when selecting a new leader.
At around 3.30pm UK time, 133 cardinals eligible to vote in this year’s conclave filed into the Sistine Chapel to begin the election but not before taking a collective and individual oath of secrecy.
Thousands of worshippers packed into St Peter’s Square to watch the action unfold on giant screens including the moment the doors to the Sistine Chapel were closed at around 4.47pm.
Crowds of around 45,000 people gathered in front of the Vatican to await the outcome of the first round of voting and eventually saw black smoke billowing from the chimney at around 8pm.
At around 9.40pm, the Vatican released a statement explaining the delay in releasing the smoke which was blamed on translation issues.
By that time, speculation had spread over the reason for the hold up.
‘They probably need more time,’ Costanza Ranaldi, a 63-year-old who travelled from Pescara in Italy’s Abruzzo region to the Vatican, said.
After black smoke rose this morning, the cardinals sat down for lunch before resting prior to the next round of voting.
Cardinal Battista Re, who is not eligible to take part in the conclave because he is over 80, said this morning that he expected to ‘find white smoke’ when he returned to Rome this evening.
The first sign of the new pope’s priorities will be revealed in the name he chooses.
After the announcement ‘Habemus Papam’ – ‘We have a pope’ – from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica is followed first by the revelation of the new pontiff’s baptismal name, in Latin, followed by his papal name.
A Pope Francis II would signify continuity with the late pontiff’s pastoral legacy and his prioritising of the marginalised.
