Kenya Insights

Tag: Sistine Chapel

  • Latest: Conclave is Black Smoke Again, No Pope

    Latest: Conclave is Black Smoke Again, No Pope

    Black smoke is again pouring out of the Sistine Chapel chimney, indicating no pope was elected on second or third ballots of the conclave.

    The smoke appeared just before noon after morning voting sessions to elect a successor to Pope Francis.

    The cardinals will now return to the Vatican residences where they are being sequestered for lunch. After that, they will go back to the Sistine Chapel for the afternoon voting session.

    Two more votes are possible today.

    What to know

    • How the pope is elected: The College of Cardinals, composed of 133 voting eligible cardinals, is sequestered inside the Vatican to pray, discern and vote for the next pope without distraction. A two-thirds majority is required for a new pope to be elected. Voting will occur regularly in the morning and afternoon until a pope is selected.
    • Smoke watch: After voting, ballots are burned in a special stove — black smoke signals no decision, while white smoke means a new pope has been chosen. Before the conclave began, the Vatican press office said that morning smoke would likely rise around 10:30 a.m. or noon local time, though cardinals overshot the office’s Wednesday estimates by hours.
    • Cardinals contenders: There are no official candidates for the papacy, but some cardinals are considered “papabile,” or possessing the characteristics necessary to become pope. Some names include Pietro Parolin, who will oversee the conclave, Luis Tagle, dubbed the “Asian Francis,” Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, a conservative cardinal native to the Congo, and Pierbattista Pizzaballa, potentially the first Italian pope in decades.
  • Black Smoke Signals No Pope Elected in 1st Round of Vatican Conclave

    Black Smoke Signals No Pope Elected in 1st Round of Vatican Conclave

    Black smoke rose from the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday, signaling that the first round of voting in the papal conclave failed to elect a new pope.

    Continuing a centuries-old tradition, 133 cardinal electors gathered at the Vatican to begin the process of selecting the 267th head of the Catholic Church, following the death of Pope Francis last month.

    The day commenced with a solemn mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, celebrated by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, who also presided over the 2013 conclave that elected Francis.

    Afterward, the cardinal electors convened in the Pauline Chapel and processed into the Sistine Chapel, where the conclave is taking place.

    The Sistine Chapel, adorned with Michelangelo’s iconic frescoes, remains sealed off from the outside world until a new pope is chosen.

    Under the conclave’s rules, a two-thirds majority is required to elect the next pontiff.

    This year’s conclave continues a tradition dating back to 1492, when the Sistine Chapel hosted its first papal election—the same year Christopher Columbus reached the Americas.

    While the papal selection process once stretched on for years, as in the mid-1200s, more recent elections have moved swiftly. In 2013, Francis was elected after five ballots over two days.

    Pope Francis passed away on April 21 at the age of 88, following a series of health complications, including cardiac arrest.

    The conclave will resume voting on Thursday as the Church awaits the emergence of its next leader.

    If a new pope is elected, white smoke will billow out of the chimney and the formula “habemus papam” (Latin for “we have a pope”) will be pronounced by the cardinal protodeacon from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.