Black smoke rises from the Sistine Chapel as cardinals cast an unsuccessful first vote

NPR | By Sarah Ventre

Published May 7, 2025 at 3:02 PM EDT

Black smoke billows from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, where 133 cardinals are gathering on the first day of the conclave, indicating that a successor of the late Pope Francis was not elected, Wednesday.

Updated May 7, 2025 at 6:00 PM EDT

VATICAN CITY — Black smoke streamed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday, signaling to the world that the 133 cardinal electors have not come to a two-thirds agreement about who the next pope should be.

Earlier on Wednesday, the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church entered the Sistine Chapel to begin the conclave, where they will select a new pope for the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.

The cardinal electors will resume voting on Thursday morning. From now on, they will vote four times a day until a candidate for the papacy achieves a two-thirds majority, with a break for a day of prayer if no pope is elected after three days.

Rome is buzzing in anticipation of this moment, and the Via della Conciliazione leading to St. Peter's Square is packed. Pilgrims, journalists, cardinals and curious onlookers have migrated to Vatican City to observe what they can of the secret conclave.

Now that the first day of conclave has concluded, Thursday morning the cardinals will celebrate Mass and then meet again in the Sistine Chapel to vote. If that vote is unsuccessful, they will immediately vote again. After that, they can vote twice in the afternoon, and in the following days there can be two votes in the morning and two in the afternoon.