Vatican conclave to pick new pope, world awaits white smoke

7/5/2025 16:49

Roman Catholic cardinals will begin the task on Wednesday of electing a new pope, locking themselves away from the world until they choose the man they hope can unite a diverse but divided global Church.



In a ritual dating back to medieval times, the cardinals will file into the Vatican's frescoed Sistine Chapel after a public Mass in St. Peter's Basilica and start their secret conclave for a successor to Pope Francis, who died last month.



No pope has been elected on the first day of a conclave for centuries, so voting could continue for several days before one of the red-hatted princes of the Church receives the necessary two-thirds majority to become the 267th pontiff.



There will be only one ballot on Wednesday. Thereafter, the cardinals can vote as many as four times a day.



They will burn their ballots, with black smoke from a chimney on the roof of the chapel marking an inconclusive vote, while white smoke and the peeling of bells signalling that the 1.4-billion member church has a new leader.



The pope's influence reaches well beyond the Catholic Church, providing a moral voice and a call to conscience that no other global leader can match.