STORY: :: Black smoke billows from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, signaling an inconclusive first vote by cardinals
:: May 7, 2025
:: Vatican City
Thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square waiting for smoke to pour from a narrow flue on the roof of the chapel at the end of a day rich in ritual and pageantry, with prelates praying for divine guidance in their secret ballot.
The crowds had to be patient as it took longer than expected for the smoke to appear, more than three hours after the start of the conclave. This was an hour more than it took for smoke to be seen after the first vote in the 2013 conclave that picked the late Pope Francis.
When a pope is chosen, white smoke will emerge, but this had not been expected on Wednesday – a pontiff has not been picked on the first day of a conclave in modern times.
However, some cardinals said this week that they hoped to wrap things up by Thursday or Friday to show the Church can remain unified after the often divisive, 12-year papacy of Francis, who died last month.
