Black smoke as day one of the conclave concludes
After a long wait, black smoke billowed from the Sistine Chapel chimney. That means the cardinals’ votes did not reach the two-thirds majority needed to elect a pope — as anticipated with their first vote. The cardinals will now take a break for the evening and resume voting tomorrow morning. Watch for smoke again tomorrow around 10:30 a.m. Rome/4:30 a.m. EDT if they elect a pope on tomorrow’s first ballot, or around noon Rome/6 a.m. EDT if they burn tomorrow’s first and second ballots together.
This article was written by OSV News.
Black smoke billows from the chimney on the Sistine Chapel May 7, 2025, on the first day of the conclave. The black smoke indicated that cardinals did not elect a new pope. (OSV News photo/Murad Sezeri, Reuters)
