VATICAN CITY – Black smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on Tuesday, signaling that the first round of voting in the papal conclave ended without the election of a new pope.
As is tradition, the smoke followed the burning of ballots cast by the 133 cardinals locked in the Vatican for the secretive and sacred process of choosing the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
It is rare for a pope to be selected on the first day, but what stood out this time was the unusually long delay — more than three hours — before the signal emerged.
“It never took this long to see the first smoke,” said a Vatican observer familiar with previous conclaves. While speculation swirled, the reasons remain unclear due to the strict secrecy of the proceedings. Some believe the late start and large number of electors — the biggest conclave in recent history — may have contributed to the delay.
Earlier in the day, cardinals filed into the chapel beneath Michelangelo’s iconic 500-year-old frescoes, where long tables awaited them with place cards and voting sheets.
Before casting their votes, they took an oath of secrecy and, with the command “extra omnes” — Latin for “everyone out” — outsiders were dismissed.
The day began with a Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, where more than 200 cardinals gathered to pray for divine guidance. Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re urged his fellow clerics to set aside personal preferences and recognize the critical moment facing humanity.
“The Church is at a turning point,” Battista Re said. “There is so much divisiveness in the world, and this new pope has an opportunity to be a unifying figure.”
In St. Peter’s Square, tens of thousands of faithful from around the world waited anxiously beneath gray skies. Many hoped to witness history with the appearance of white smoke — the traditional sign that a new pontiff had been chosen.
With all the pomp, drama and solemnity that the Catholic Church can muster, the cardinals began the centuries-old ritual to elect a successor to Pope Francis, celebrating a morning Mass on Wednesday before opening the most geographically diverse conclave in the faith’s 2,000-year history.
Hailing from 70 countries, the cardinals are being sequestered from the outside world, their cellphones surrendered and airwaves around the Vatican jammed to prevent all communications until they find a new leader for the 1.4 billion-member church.
At 4:30 p.m. (1430 GMT; 10:30 a.m. EDT) the cardinals walked solemnly into the frescoed Sistine Chapel, chanting the meditative “Litany of the Saints” and the Latin hymn “Veni Creator,” imploring the saints and the Holy Spirit to help them pick a pope.
Once there, they pledged to maintain secrecy about what is about to transpire and to not allow “any interference, opposition or any other form of intervention” from outsiders to influence their voting.
Standing before Michelangelo’s vision of heaven and hell in “The Last Judgment,” each cardinal placed his hand on the Gospel and swore to carry out that duty.
“It’s been a really deep and transforming experience,” said Father Rafael Capó, vice president of mission at St. Thomas University, who is in Vatican City for the event. “I had followed previous conclaves from TV back … even though I had studied and been here in Rome for so many times, I had never had the personal experience of being here, and being here is — I’m without words. I’m at loss of words. It’s not just a spiritual moment but a deeply moving moment for all of us that are here at St. Peter’s Square.”
Capó joined Local 10’s Jenise Fernandez from St. Peter’s Square to help explain the solemn tradition. He described the sense of reverence as cardinals took an oath on the Book of the Gospels while standing before Michelangelo’s Last Judgment, a moment he said carries profound spiritual weight.
“In previous conclaves, going up to the Book of Gospels and looking at the Last Judgment of Michelangelo and putting their vote in conscience saying, ‘I vote for the person that the Lord is moving in my heart and in good conscience.’ The salvation is at stake voting for the right person that they feel should be elected,” Capó said.
This conclave differs from those in the past in that the cardinals may be less familiar with each other, Capó noted. Under Pope Francis, annual gatherings among the cardinals were not regularly held, making the general congregations over the past week critical for forming relationships and engaging in dialogue ahead of the vote.
“Previous conclaves were rather short, but cardinals had more experience of getting to know each other… under the pontificate of Pope Francis, they didn’t have those annual meetings,” Capó said.
As the world watches, St. Peter’s Square has filled with people of all faiths — and even those without religious affiliation — drawn by the gravity of the moment.
“Not just practicing Catholics, lapsed Catholics, Christians from all denominations, men and women of goodwill are like at awe of the process of the papal conclave,” Capó said. “And it’s moving hearts and you can hear testimonies of people that are moved to prayer and to like go into moments of silence and reverence because of this process.”
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The awesomeness of the chapel’s frescoes, and Michelangelo’s in particular, is meant to remind the cardinals of the weighty responsibility they bear. In his regulations for the conclave, St. John Paul II wrote that in the Sistine Chapel, “everything is conducive to an awareness of the presence of God, in whose sight each person will one day be judged.”
After the cardinals take their oaths, a senior cardinal delivers a meditation. The master of papal liturgical ceremonies, Archbishop Diego Ravelli, calls out “Extra omnes,” Latin for “all out.” Anyone not eligible to vote then leaves and the chapel doors close, allowing the work to begin.
WATCH: Conclave begins to elect new pope, smoke to billow from Sistine Chapel chimney after first vote:
The cardinals could retire for the night and return Thursday morning. They can also hold up to two ballots in the morning and two in the afternoon until a winner is found.
While cardinals this week said they expected a short conclave, it will likely take at least a few rounds of voting. For the past century, it has taken between three and eight ballots to find a pope. John Paul I — the pope who reigned for 33 days in 1978 — was elected on the third ballot. His successor, John Paul II, needed eight. Francis was elected on the fifth in 2013.
Ultimately, Vatican watchers caution that the next pope may be someone who has yet to surface in public discussions.
Until white smoke rises, the faithful — and the world — can only wait.