This photograph shows black smoke rising from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel signalling that cardinals failed to elect a new pope during their conclave in the Vatican on May 8, 2025. Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty Images
Again, the second round of voting on Thursday morning ended with black smoke emitting from the Sistine Chapel’s chimney. showing that no new pope has been elected.
The first round of voting by cardinals on Wednesday night had ended in the emission of the same black smoke, signifying that no Pope had emerged..
This was a repeat of the same deadlock on Wednesday when black smoke emitted after the first round of voting signalling that the Catholics worldwide are still to wait for the new pope.
This implies that the voting has to be repeated until the deadlock is broken with the emission of a white smoke indicating the emergence of a new Pope.
The 133 Cardinals constituting the conclave may gather once or twice more to break the deadlock.
They had gathered again on Thursday under the vaulted ceilings of the Sistine Chapel, which are decorated with Michelangelo’s frescoes, including “The Creation of Adam,” where they cast their second set of ballots to make one among them the next leader of the Catholic Church’s more than 1 billion members worldwide.
A successful candidate to replace Pope Francis, who died April 21, will require a two-thirds majority of the voting cardinals.
The first ballot on Wednesday had failed, resulting in a plume of black smoke — fumata nera in Italian — from the chapel’s chimney.
White smoke — fumata bianca — will signify that a new pope has been elected, as will the ringing of the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica.
