VATICAN CITY (AP) — Black smoke is pouring out of the Sistine Chapel chimney, indicating no pope was elected on the first ballot of the conclave to choose a new leader of the Catholic Church.
The smoke billowed out at 9 p.m. Wednesday, some four hours after 133 cardinals solemnly entered the Sistine Chapel, took their oaths of secrecy and formally opened the centuries-old ritual to elect a successor to Pope Francis to lead the 1.4 billion-member church.
With no one securing the necessary two-thirds majority, or 89 votes, the cardinals will retire for the night to the Vatican residences where they are being sequestered.
They return to the Sistine Chapel on Thursday morning.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The great doors of the Sistine Chapel shut Wednesday after the cry of “extra omnes” — Latin for “all out” — as 133 cardinals began the secretive, centuries-old ritual of electing a new pope to lead the Catholic Church, opening the most geographically diverse conclave in the faith’s 2,000-year history.
The red-robed cardinals entered the Sistine Chapel in pairs, chanting the meditative “Litany of the Saints” as Swiss Guards stood at attention. The hymn implores the saints to help the cardinals find a successor to Pope Francis to lead the 1.4 billion-strong Catholic Church.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the secretary of state under Francis and himself a leading contender to succeed him as pope, assumed the leadership of the proceedings as the senior cardinal under age 80.
Speaking in Latin, Parolin stood before Michelangelo’s vision of heaven and hell, “The Last Judgment,” and led the cardinals in a lengthy oath. Each one followed, placing his hand on the Gospel and promising in Latin to maintain utmost secrecy.
The dramatic ritual was more colorful than even Hollywood could create, a wash of colors, chants, incense and solemnity that underscored the seriousness of the moment. Outside in St. Peter’s Square, the scene was almost festive, as hundreds of people watched the proceedings on giant video screens, applauding when the Sistine Chapel’s doors shut and the Vatican feed cut off.
But after nearly three hours of waiting and as dinnertime neared, many in the crowd left, frustrated at how long the process was taking and wondering if a vote had even taken place.
“My hope is that cardinals will choose a man who can be a peacemaker and could reunify the church,” said Gabriel Capry, a 27-year-old from London.
A diverse group of cardinals
Hailing from 70 countries, the cardinals have been sequestered from the outside world, their cellphones surrendered and airwaves around the Vatican jammed to prevent all communications until they find a new pope.
Francis named 108 of the 133 “princes of the church,” choosing many pastors in his image from far-flung countries like Mongolia, Sweden and Tonga that had never had a cardinal before.
His decision to surpass the usual limit of 120 cardinal electors and include younger ones from the “global south” — often marginalized countries with lower economic clout — has injected an unusual degree of uncertainty in a process that is always full of mystery and suspense.
Many cardinals hadn’t met until last week and lamented they needed more time to get to know one another, raising questions about how long it might take for one man to secure the two-thirds majority, or 89 ballots, necessary to become the 267th pope.
“Wait and see, a little patience, wait and see,” said Cardinal Mario Zenari, the Vatican’s ambassador to Syria.
A final Mass, then ‘all out’
Earlier in the day, the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, presided over a morning Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica urging the voters to set aside all personal interests and find a pope who prizes unity. He prayed for a pope who could awaken the conscience of the world.
He reminded the cardinals that the awesomeness of the Sistine 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.”
After the cardinals took their oaths, the master of papal liturgical ceremonies, Archbishop Diego Ravelli, called out “extra omnes,” and anyone not eligible to vote left before the chapel doors closed. An elderly cardinal remained to deliver a meditation, but after it was finished he, too, had to leave.
The cardinals didn’t have to take a first vote Wednesday, but they were expected to. Assuming no winner is found, the Vatican said black smoke could be expected out of the Sistine Chapel chimney after 7 p.m. As 9 p.m. came and went, there was no word on what was taking so long.
The cardinals eventually retire for the night and return Thursday morning. They can 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 much of the past century, it has taken between three and 14 ballots to find a pope. John Paul I — the pope who reigned for 33 days in 1978 — was elected on the fourth ballot. His successor, John Paul II, needed eight. Francis was elected on the fifth in 2013.
Lobbying before the conclave
While the cardinals are supposed to resist any “secular” influences in their choice, such lobbying abounded in Rome in the days before the conclave as various groups reminded cardinals of what ordinary Catholics want in a leader.
Young Catholics penned an open letter reminding cardinals that there is no church without young people, women and the laity. Conservative Catholic media slipped cardinals copies of a glossy book containing their assessments of contenders. Survivors of clergy sexual abuse warned cardinals that they would be held accountable if they failed to find a leader who will crack down on decades of abuse and cover-up.
Advocates for women’s ordination sent pink smoke signals Wednesday over the Vatican to demand that women be allowed to be priests and participate in a conclave.
Even the White House got involved, posting a photo of President Donald Trump dressed as a pope. Trump said it was a joke, but the gesture was denounced by former Italian Premier Romano Prodi as “indecent” political interference in matters of faith that hark back to times when secular rulers intervened in conclaves and habitually wielded religion to stay in power.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, said there was also plenty of lobbying going on among cardinals themselves.
“You invite each other out,” Dolan said on SiriusXM’s The Catholic Channel before the conclave began. “And you’re pretty blunt. Now, we’re not, you know, we’re not horse trading here. We’re saying, ‘Tell me about this guy. You’re from Latin America. Go through the list of bishops. Tell me some of these fellas. Am I right to be enchanted by this guy?’”
Lisette Herrera, a 54-year-old tourist from the Dominican Republic, was deeply moved to find herself by chance in Rome as the conclave began. She decided Wednesday morning to skip the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain and pray instead in St. Peter’s Square.
“I’m praying to the Holy Spirit for a young pope who would stay with us for a long time,” she said. “I don’t believe in conclave politics, I just feel that the Holy Spirit is here and that’s all we need to know.”
Challenges facing a new pope
Many challenges face the new pope and weigh on the cardinals — above all whether to continue and consolidate Francis’ progressive legacy on promoting women, LGBTQ+ acceptance, the environment and migrants, or roll it back to try to unify a church that became more polarized during his pontificate. The clergy sex abuse scandal hung over the pre-conclave talks.
Since Francis chose 80% of the voters, continuity is likely, but the form it might take is uncertain and identifying front-runners has been a challenge.
But some names keep appearing on lists of “papabile,” or cardinals having the qualities to be pope, in addition to Parolin.
— Filipino Cardinal Luis Tagle, 67, is a top candidate to be history’s first Asian pope. He headed the Vatican’s evangelization office responsible for the Catholic Church in much of the developing world.
— Hungarian Cardinal Peter Erdo, 72, the archbishop of Budapest, is a leading candidate representing the more conservative wing of the church.
For AP’s full coverage of the conclave, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/papal-conclave ___
AP reporters Giada Zampano and Vanessa Gera contributed.
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
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