ROME — Black smoke billowed into the sky above the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel on Wednesday night, though with thousands watching and waiting in St. Peters Square, the first ballot results took much longer than expected.
Neil MacCarthy, with the Archdiocese of Toronto, was standing in the square and shares that “there was a lot of anticipation, but when it took more than an hour longer than we thought it would, you could feel the crowd grow restless.”
Black smoke signals that a new pope has yet to be chosen by the Cardinal electors, who must reach a two thirds majority.
No one predicted a new pope to be chosen on day one of the conclave, but many Vatican watchers say the results took nearly two hours longer than expected.
“We were expecting black smoke to rise at around 7:30 p.m. local time but it took until 9 p.m.,” notes author and Vatican correspondent, Gerard O’Connell.
A record 133 Cardinal electors, representing 70 different countries including Canada, entered the Sistine Chapel at around 4:30 p.m. local time.
O’Connell notes that “many of the Cardinals have never met, and if they were to pass each other in the street, they may not even recognise themselves.”
With so many Cardinals and the ballot votes appearing to take longer than usual to tally, the conclave “may take longer than some may have anticipated” adds O’Connell.
Day two of the conclave will begin Thursday with two votes scheduled for the early morning and two more, if necessary, in the afternoon.
Just how many ballots it will take is a topic of great debate, with some predicting a pope could be selected as early as Thursday with others predicting the conclave could continue into the weekend.
There is one certainty, public interest is at an all-time high.
O’Connell who’s covered the previous two conclaves says he’s “never seen so many people” gather in St. Peters Square for day one of the conclave.
