Black smoke rose from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on the evening of Wednesday, May 7, signaling to onlookers that the voting cardinals inside have not come to a two-thirds consensus about who will succeed Pope Francis. This comes roughly two weeks after the late pontiff died at age 88.
The ballots were cast just hours after the conclave began — and although there was only one vote on day one, moving forward, cardinals will be able vote twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon, according to the Vatican.
The conclave is the historically secretive process in which cardinals under the age of 80 vote to select the new pope — and they’ll stay stay sequestered inside the Sistine Chapel until a new pope has been chosen. When the 267th pope is chosen, white smoke will be sent through the chapel’s chimney, but until then, black smoke will signal the opposite.
AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia Black smoke rises from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday, May 7
Of the 252 cardinals at the time of the late pontiff’s death, only 135 are eligible to vote in the conclave, according to the Vatican — and two have said they are unable to attend for health reasons, which is why there are only 133 cardinals voting.
Cardinals over the age of 80 will often still participate in the pre-conclave discussions, called general congregations, in which issues within the church are raised.
Stefano Spaziani/Europa Press via Getty Cardinals sat the Basilica of St. Peter.
The process has been made famous by the 2024 film Conclave starring Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci.
Francis, himself the first Latin American pope in history and the first non-European pope since the eighth century, strived to diversify the College of Cardinals during his papacy. He appointed many cardinals from Africa, South America and Asia, the latter of which now represents 17% of the College — second only to Europe, NPR reported.
Gregg Gassman, a librarian who hosts the Popeular History podcast, told the outlet this upcoming cardinal gathering will be “the least European conclave in history.”
Stefano Spaziani/Europa Press via Getty Appointment of cardinals.
Some experts have speculated that the late pope’s successor may share in his more progressive ideals for the church, but American Catholic theologian Bill Cavanaugh previously told PEOPLE “anything can happen.”
“It’s not like there’s a clear front-runner right now. There’s a lot of speculation,” said Cavanaugh, also a professor of Catholic studies at DePaul Univeristy. “Will it be back to another European pope, or will it be another pope from the ‘Global South,’ from Asia, from Africa? We just don’t know.”
