After mourning Pope Francis, more than 130 cardinals have gathered to take part in the secretive conclave election to pick a new Pope.
On Wednesday, May 7, the 133 voting cardinals began the day in St. Peter’s Basilica at 10:00 a.m. local time with a pre-conclave votive mass, during which they prayed for guidance in regards to electing a new pope.
The voting won’t actually begin until the afternoon — at which point the cardinals will be sequestered in the Sistine Chapel until they reach a two-thirds majority.
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Although the conclave itself takes place behind closed doors, after each vote, smoke is sent up a chimney in the Sistine Chapel, which gives the public an update on the proceedings. If the smoke is black, that means the cardinals are still deliberating, but if it’s white, that means a new pope has been chosen.
There’s nothing left for the cardinals to do on day one of the conclave but retire for the evening.
They’ll be back to voting duty in the morning — and the world will go back to waiting for smoke to come out of a chimney.
No Pope Yet, but Voting continues tomorrow.
After a long wait, black smoke rose from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday, May 7, meaning that the cardinals have not come to a two-thirds consensus about who will succeed Pope Francis.
This will be the only vote of the day, but moving forward, cardinals will be able to vote twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon, according to the Vatican.
Black smoke billows from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday, May 7.
There’s no word yet on the first vote, but the internet has been loving their view of a seagull that has been practically glued to its spot by the Sistine Chapel chimney (the bird was even on it at one point).
“We may not have a new pope yet but this seagull is living for it,” one social media user joked on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Seagull sitting on the Sistine Chapel chimney.
“Brother Seagull is milking the moment for all it’s worth,” quipped another.
On another corner of the internet, the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation also got in on the bird-related humor, sharing a photo of a red cardinal appropriately captioned “Conclave (2024),” a nod to the film.
How Are Votes Cast?
As the world awaits to see the results of the first vote of the conclave, many may be asking themselves, how are ballots actually cast?
As noted by the Associated Press, each cardinal writes his choice on a paper with the words “Eligo in summen pontificem,” written on them. That translates to “I elect as Supreme Pontiff.”
In turn, they approach the altar and say: “I call as my witness, Christ the Lord who will be my judge, that my vote is given to the one who, before God, I think should be elected.”
The ballets are folded, placed on a round plate and then slid into an urn. Then the ballots are opened, read and an official tally is made. After being added up, the results are written down in a separate paper for the archives.
After each ballot is read, the ballot is pierced through the word “eligo” and they get tied up together and then burned.
Sistine Chapel Empties
After the cardinals finished taking their oath of secrecy, The Master of Pontifical Liturgical Ceremonies uttered the words extra omnes, which ordered everyone not involved in the conclave to immediately leave the Sistine Chapel.
Then the doors were closed — and the secretive process truly began.
Although the public won’t see it, before voting officially begins, another meditation will be held for the cardinals, but then, it’ll be time.
Earlier, the cardinals had taken an oath based on the instructions in a document governing the conclave, which Pope John Paul II issued back in 1996, according to The New York Times.
The most senior cardinal bishop, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, read the oath in Latin with the 133 cardinals reading along.
The paper reported that the group pledged that the person chosen as the next pope would “commit himself faithfully” to carrying out the mission of St. Peter, the first pontiff, “and will not fail to affirm and defend strenuously the spiritual and temporal rights and the liberty of the Holy See.”
The cardinals each vowed that the proceedings would remain in secret unless the new pope chosen, adding they would not break the vow, the Times reported. The notes taken during the conclave are supposed to be burned with the paper ballots, which are incinerated up to twice a day.
As the 133 cardinals made their way into the Sistine Chapel preparing to elect Pope Francis’ successor, CNN reported that the men were singing the “Litany of the Saints,” calling on more than 100 Catholic saints to pray for them.
NBC News reported the group entered in order of precedence from the most senior cardinal bishop, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, to the most recently created deacon, Cardinal George Koovakad.
The cardinals will enter the Sistine Chapel in reverse order of their hierarchical precedence. Deacons will enter first, then priests and bishops. Parolin will be the last to enter.
