Image Credentials: Image Title: BLACK SMOKE FROM SISTINE CHAPEL: CARDINALS FAIL TO ELECT NEW POPE ON FIRST BALLOT Source: (Grok, xAI) Date: May 2025 Attribution: Created by AI-generated imagery (Grok, xAI), and it does not depict a real-world scene.
By Staff Writer with Agencies
VATICAN CITY — A plume of black smoke rose from the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday evening, signaling that the Roman Catholic Church’s 133 cardinal electors were unable to reach consensus on who will become the next pope.
The symbolic smoke, visible against the twilight sky over St. Peter’s Basilica, confirmed what many observers had anticipated: the first round of voting in the papal conclave has ended without a decision. According to tradition, a new pope must receive a two-thirds majority to be elected, a benchmark that was not achieved in today’s vote.
Earlier in the day, the cardinal electors entered the Sistine Chapel following a solemn procession and Mass, beginning the sacred and highly secretive conclave to choose a new spiritual leader for the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics. Locked away from the outside world, the cardinals swore oaths of secrecy and began their deliberations under the gaze of Michelangelo’s iconic ceiling frescoes.
Fumata negra en la primera votación del Cónclave. #Cónclave2025 #Conclave
pic.twitter.com/vZWLePNFnx— News Vaticano 🇻🇦 (@news_vaticano) May 7, 2025
Thousands of faithful, pilgrims, journalists, and tourists filled Via della Conciliazione and St. Peter’s Square, straining to catch a glimpse of the smoke and awaiting news with reverence, curiosity, and hope. The atmosphere was a mix of anticipation and solemnity as the first signal emerged, not yet.
According to Vatican procedure, voting will resume Thursday morning. The cardinals will first celebrate Mass before returning to the chapel. If the morning vote again yields no consensus, a second vote will follow immediately. The pattern allows for two votes in the morning and two in the afternoon each day. If no pope is elected after three days, a pause for prayer and reflection is observed before voting resumes.
The conclave, steeped in centuries of tradition, comes at a pivotal moment for the Catholic Church, as it seeks a leader to guide it through challenges both spiritual and institutional. Speculation remains rampant among Vatican-watchers and faithful alike about who may emerge as the next pontiff, though the proceedings remain strictly confidential.
Until white smoke appears—signifying that a new pope has been chosen—the world waits, watching the chimney above the Sistine Chapel, where history is quietly unfolding.