Black smoke billows from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel during the cardinals’ conclave to elect a new pope, at the Vatican, Wednesday, May 7, 2025. —AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino
VATICAN CITY — Black smoke is pouring out of the Sistine Chapel chimney, indicating no pope was elected on the first ballot of the conclave to choose a new leader of the Catholic Church.
The smoke billowed out at 9 p.m. Wednesday, some four hours after 133 cardinals solemnly entered the Sistine Chapel, took their oaths of secrecy and formally opened the centuries-old ritual to elect a successor to Pope Francis to lead the 1.4 billion-member church.
With no one securing the necessary two-thirds majority, or 89 votes, the cardinals will retire for the night to the Vatican residences where they are being sequestered.
They return to the Sistine Chapel on Thursday morning.
READ: Cardinals end pre-conclave talks unsure who should succeed Francis
A diverse group of cardinals
Hailing from 70 countries, the cardinals have been sequestered from the outside world, their cellphones surrendered and airwaves around the Vatican jammed to prevent all communications until they find a new pope.
Francis named 108 of the 133 “princes of the church,” choosing many pastors in his image from far-flung countries like Mongolia, Sweden and Tonga that had never had a cardinal before.
His decision to surpass the usual limit of 120 cardinal electors and include younger ones from the “global south” — often marginalized countries with lower economic clout — has injected an unusual degree of uncertainty in a process that is always full of mystery and suspense.
Many cardinals hadn’t met until last week and lamented they needed more time to get to know one another, raising questions about how long it might take for one man to secure the two-thirds majority, or 89 ballots, necessary to become the 267th pope.
“Wait and see, a little patience, wait and see,” said Cardinal Mario Zenari, the Vatican’s ambassador to Syria./cb —AP
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