No pope chosen as black smoke billows from Sistine Chapel

Black smoke has again poured out of the Sistine Chapel chimney, indicating no pope was elected on the second or third ballots of the conclave to choose a new leader of the Catholic Church.

The smoke appeared just before noon in the Vatican after morning voting sessions to elect a successor to Pope Francis.

The cardinals will now return to the Vatican residences where they are being sequestered for lunch. After that, they will go back to the Sistine Chapel for the afternoon voting session.

Two more votes are possible today.

What to know

• How the pope is elected: The College of Cardinals, composed of 133 voting eligible cardinals, is sequestered inside the Vatican to pray, discern and vote for the next pope without distraction. A two-thirds majority is required for a new pope to be elected. Voting will occur regularly in the morning and afternoon until a pope is selected.

• Smoke watch: After voting, ballots are burned in a special stove — black smoke signals no decision, while white smoke means a new pope has been chosen. Before the conclave began, the Vatican press office said that morning smoke would likely rise around 10:30 a.m. or noon local time, though cardinals overshot the office’s Wednesday estimates by hours.

• Cardinals contenders: There are no official candidates for the papacy, but some cardinals are considered “papabile,” or possessing the characteristics necessary to become pope. Some names include Pietro Parolin, who will oversee the conclave, Luis Tagle, dubbed the “Asian Francis,” Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, a conservative cardinal native to the Congo, and Pierbattista Pizzaballa, potentially the first Italian pope in decades.

Savoring the suspense

Some of those waiting for a new pope are getting impatient but others relish the suspense.

“The wait is marvelous,” said Priscilla Parlante from Rome.

Many visitors to Rome were happy about the timing of their trip to Italy.

“Being here during this conclave is a miracle,” said Linda Perotti from Colorado.

“I truly believe that the pope that they vote in will be a healer, will bring unity to this world,” she added.

Hoping for white smoke by Thursday evening

Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the College of Cardinals, says he hopes that a new pope would be elected by this evening.

“I hope that when I return to Rome this evening, I’ll find the white smoke already rising,” Re said in the city of Pompei, according to Italian newspapers.

Re is 91 years old, which makes him too old to participate in the conclave of 133 cardinals who are electing the next pope and who all have to be younger than 80.

The spiritual and secular mingle in St. Peter’s Square

It’s such a mix on St. Peter’s Square.

Catholic pilgrims. School children from Catholic schools in Rome. Tourists from around the world. And journalists. Lots and lots of journalists.

They all want to witness the emergence of white smoke from the Sistine Chapel — signifying that a new pope has been chosen.

There are also many groups arriving in religious procession, usually with a leader carrying a cross as others file into the square.

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