Vatican City: Thick black smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel’s chimney on Wednesday evening, signaling that the College of Cardinals has failed to elect a new pope in the first round of voting.
Tens of thousands of people had gathered in St Peter’s Square to watch the symbolic smoke signal, which came over three hours after the 133 cardinals entered the conclave following the death of Pope Francis on April 21.
The dark smoke indicated that no candidate had achieved the required two-thirds majority to become the next pontiff.
Cardinals from nearly 70 countries are participating in the highly secretive conclave. As tradition dictates, they surrendered their phones and all communications with the outside world are blocked until a new pope is elected. Voting will resume Thursday and will continue until one of the cardinals secures at least 89 votes.
Black smoke signalled the end of the first day of the conclave at 21:00, hours after the doors of the Sistine Chapel were closed with the words, “Extra omnes” or “Everyone out.”
This means the conclave will continue tomorrow morning when the Cardinal electors will gather once… pic.twitter.com/Yyo0BTsdvG
— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) May 7, 2025
This is the first conclave since Pope Francis, known for his progressive stance and global outreach, passed away after 12 years as head of the Roman Catholic Church. He had appointed 108 of the current 133 electors, many from nations previously unrepresented in the College of Cardinals.
There is no clear frontrunner to succeed Francis. Among those mentioned are Italy’s Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Hungary’s Peter Erdo, and Sri Lanka’s Malcolm Ranjith.
The next pope will inherit a Church facing major challenges: dwindling priest numbers, financial concerns, unresolved abuse scandals, and declining influence in the West. The decision, when it comes, will shape the future of the 2,000-year-old institution.
