Papal conclave resumes after black smoke puffed
Sopuruchi Onwuka
High ranking cardinals who entered into a closed session to select a new pope were unable to conclude on Wednesday, making it necessary to release a black smoke from the Sistine Chapel at the St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome.
Black smoke which came out from the chapel after 9 pm Wednesday signaled that no conclusions were reached in the selection process after Cardinals held the first vote on the first day of the conclave. It also shows that deliberations will continue until a new pope is announced to global 1.8 billion Catholics.
It was reported that disappointed crowds, who gathered in St. Peter’s Basilica throughout the day as they awaited the ballot results, dispersed as black smoke rises from Sistene chapel late in the evening.
The Oracle Today learnt that the cardinals need any of the papal candidates to amass two thirds of the vote to be elected the Pope.
Cardinals entered the conclave early Wednesday and are housed in a residence in the Vatican, cut off from receiving information outside the isolated period. Only cardinals younger than 80 years can vote in the secret ballot. The current conclave is reputed to be the largest in the history of the church, with 133 cardinals voting.
Cardinals reconvened Thursday, and they can cast up to four ballots in a day. After each vote, the ballots are burned and smoke is released. If white smoke emerges, a pope has been elected.
The process became necessary after Pope Francis, elected pope in 2013 after five ballots over two days of the conclave, died April 21 at the age of 88 at his residence in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta after a long series of health complications.
Dozens of cardinals are considered contenders for the head of the Catholic Church, and while the pope must be any baptized man, the contenders are typically only among that group.
The Vatican News, the official communications outlet of the Vatican, posted on X on Wednesday that all nonessential personnel have left the Sistine Chapel, leaving the Cardinals to vote in private. The account shared a video of the chapel’s heavy doors being dramatically shut. Later, the Vatican’s YouTube channel showed black smoke, meaning no pope has been chosen in the most recent ballot.
There’s no way to watch the real papal conclave, as it’s conducted inside the walls of the Sistine Chapel and is private. Perhaps the most interesting way to follow along is to tune in to the Vatican’s own YouTube channel, which is streaming a live webcam from St. Peter’s Square in Rome, the large public square outside the Vatican buildings. That’s where you can see the black smoke as ballots are burned.
