VATICAN CITY (RNS) — As expected, black smoke emerged from the chimney above the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, where cardinals cast their first votes on Wednesday (May 7), a sign to onlookers in St. Peter’s Square they have not reached a consensus on who should be the next pope.
The smoke emerged around 9 p.m. Rome time. The doors of the Sistine Chapel were closed for voting at 5:46 p.m.
In the past seven papal elections, it has not taken more than four days for the cardinals to reach the majority of votes necessary to elect a new pontiff. The 1939 conclave that elected Pius XII came to a decision on the second day on the third vote, while cardinals took four days to elect Pope John XXIII in 1958.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin entered the conclave as a front-runner, with reports indicating roughly 40 to 50 votes would be for him out of the 133 cardinal electors. A two-thirds majority is needed to choose the next pontiff, rounded up to 89 votes.
If the case for a Parolin papacy is not made within the first two days of voting, it’s likely the cardinals will start seeking other contenders — and ideological divisions over the future of the church might emerge.
Filipino Cardinal Luis Antoni …