VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — This morning the cardinal electors are returning to the Sistine Chapel to begin a second day of prayerful deliberation and voting for the next Successor of Peter.
Two sessions of voting will take place today, if necessary. In the morning, the cardinals will participate in two rounds of voting, and their ballots are expected to be burned by the Roman lunchtime. If a new pope is elected in these rounds, the resultant smoke will be white. If, however, no cardinal has received the two-thirds majority required to be elected pope, the smoke will be black.
There will then follow another two rounds of voting in the afternoon, and the world will watch again for a smoke signal, this time in the early evening between 7 and 8 PM, local time.
Yesterday evening, May 7, black smoke billowed from the chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel, indicating that no new pope had been chosen.
The cardinals had begun the conclave Wednesday morning, starting with the Mass for the election of a new pope and then processing into the Sistine Chapel in the afternoon.
Once inside the famous chapel, they swore their oaths of secrecy regarding the conclave – promising not to reveal details to any non-cardinal electors under pain of excommunication.
It is unclear at this time how long it will take to elect the new pope, and a repeat of the conclave that elected Pope Paul VI in just two days is not expected. The late Pope Francis not only divided the Church, he discouraged meetings of the cardinals during his 12-year reign. It is therefore unsurprising that many cardinals have observed that they do not know each other.
The determination of orthodox bishops that a “second Francis” not be elected, the eagerness of Francis’ most loyal fans among the cardinal electors to continue to reshape the Church in his image, and the cardinals’ unfamiliarity with each other may lead to a longer conclave.
To keep track of LifeSite’s full conclave coverage from Rome, find the archive here.
