VATICAN CITY — A plume of black smoke emerging from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on Thursday morning confirmed that the cardinals gathered in conclave had failed to elect a new pope during their two morning ballots.
The College of Cardinals resumed its sacred and centuries-old process of selecting the next leader of the Catholic Church at 9:30 a.m. local time, following an inconclusive initial vote on Wednesday evening. Two additional rounds of voting are scheduled for Thursday afternoon. Should a consensus be reached, white smoke will rise from the chapel’s chimney—a traditional signal that a new pontiff has been chosen. If not, a second signal is expected around 7 p.m.
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals and celebrant of the pre-conclave Mass, expressed cautious optimism earlier in the day. Speaking to journalists in Pompeii, he said, “I hope we’ll see white smoke when I get back to Rome this evening.” He emphasized the spiritual challenges facing the next pope, noting that a central priority would be to “strengthen faith in God” in a world that, he observed, “seemed to have forgotten about God a bit.” He concluded, “We need an awakening.”
If a new pope were to be elected by Thursday evening, it would mark the fastest papal election in over a century—surpassing the 2005 conclave, which saw Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger elected as Pope Benedict XVI in under 36 hours.
The path to consensus remains uncertain, shaped in part by the legacy of Pope Francis. His passing left a deeply diverse and, at times, divided College of Cardinals. While some members are aligned with Francis’s reformist vision, others advocate a return to more traditional interpretations of Church doctrine.
Among those widely viewed as potential successors are Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State; Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines, a noted reformer; Cardinal Péter ErdÅ‘ of Hungary, a conservative; Cardinal Robert Sarah of Guinea, an outspoken critic of Francis’s papacy; and Cardinal Robert Prevost of the United States, considered a moderate.
In St. Peter’s Square, more than 45,000 faithful and tourists waited patiently for the outcome of the day’s deliberations, enduring delays as the anticipated smoke signal arrived two hours behind schedule. Online, over 100,000 viewers tuned in to watch a live feed of the chimney, where roosting seagulls offered the only visual diversion during the long vigil.
The world now waits, as the cardinals continue their solemn task behind the locked doors of the Sistine Chapel.
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