(ZENIT News / Vatican City, 07.05.2025).- The Conclave began on Wednesday, May 7. Following the Mass Pro Eligendo Pontifice in the morning, the afternoon procession into the Sistine Chapel, the Cardinals’ oath, and the famous «extra omnes» followed. Thousands awaited the «fumata,» the smoke that rises from the chimney and announces the result of the first vote.
Smoke was expected to be seen rising around 7:00 p.m. Rome time. At least 50,000 people had been waiting since 6:00 p.m. in St. Peter’s Square and Via della Conciliazione. But time passed, and nothing emerged. It was around 9:00 p.m. Rome time when, in an already darkened Vatican, when black smoke was seen despite the darkness. The first day of the Conclave and the first day without a Pope-elect.
However, the news wasn’t the black smoke — which was predictable, for that matter — but the unprecedented length of the wait to find out the result of the vote. While in 2013, the wait was only 41 minutes, on this occasion it was two hours.
Several hypotheses were considered: from the malfunction of the stove that burns the ballots and allows the smoke to escape, to an accident involving a sick Cardinal Elector, to the elimination of the vote due to an extra ballot during the count. At this moment, it’s known that the preaching prior to the vote lasted 45 minutes (very long) and that the presence of 133 Cardinals lengthened the time required for the casting of each vote (there are 18 more Cardinals than at the 2013 Conclave).
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