Black smoke billowed from the Sistine Chapel‘s chimney on the first day of the papal conclave, signalling that no new pope had been chosen. The smoke indicated an unsuccessful first ballot by the cardinals gathered in Vatican City to elect the next leader of the Catholic Church.The smoke rose at 9 pm, local time on Wednesday, nearly four hours after 133 cardinals entered the Sistine Chapel, swore oaths of secrecy, and began the centuries-old process of selecting a new pope to succeed Pope Francis as leader of the Catholic Church’s 1.4 billion followers.
As no candidate received the required two-thirds majority—89 votes—the cardinals will retire for the night to their Vatican accommodations, where they remain sequestered. The conclave will resume on Thursday morning as they return to the Sistine Chapel to continue the voting process.The 133 cardinals, representing 70 countries, have been cut off from the outside world. Their mobile phones were handed in, and signal jammers have been activated around the Vatican to block all communication until a new pope is elected.Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday at the age of 88, had worked to make the 1.4 billion-member Catholic Church more universal. He broke with previous customs regarding who in the world could become a cardinal and also the character of the college of cardinals.
