Black smoke rose from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel at 11:51 am Rome time on Thursday, signaling that the cardinals voting at the conclave have not yet elected a new pope.
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The plume of dark smoke indicates that the 133 cardinal electors sequestered inside the chapel have not reached the required two-thirds majority — at least 89 votes — needed to elect a successor to Pope Francis, who died on April 21.
Thursday marks the second day of voting in the conclave, which began on the afternoon of May 7 with a first round of balloting that also produced black smoke.
Thousands of faithful are gathered in St. Peter’s Square, hoping to witness history.
The cardinals will hold four votes each day: two in the morning and two in the afternoon.
If the new pope is not elected on the first morning ballot, a second ballot is held immediately. Both ballots are burned together, leading to possible smoke around noon Rome time. If, however, the pope is elected on the first morning ballot, the white smoke will appear shortly after 10:30 a.m.
The same process is repeated in the afternoon. After a brief break, two more votes will be held. If neither is conclusive, the smoke is expected around 7 p.m. Rome time. However, if the pope is elected on the first ballot of the afternoon, white smoke would be seen shortly after 5:30 p.m.
Thus, on both Thursday and Friday, observers should be alert for four possible times when the smoke may appear each day: two around noon and two in the evening.
The cardinals are following a structured regimen during the conclave, beginning each day with Mass in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, followed by transfer to the Sistine Chapel for voting. They remain completely sequestered from the outside world, with no access to phones, internet, or news media.
The historical average length for modern conclaves is approximately three days, though the conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI in 2005 lasted only two days.
This article was originally published on CNA.
