There was black smoke on the first this Wednesday. Also on the second this Thursday morning. The conclave has not reached a consensus after three votes, and the 133 elector cardinals will return to the Sistine Chapel after lunch and prayer to choose a new Pope. This afternoon, two more scrutinies will take place, and if they are not positive, a third black smoke will appear around 7:00 p.m.
Starting this Friday, the same voting process as this Thursday will continue. After three days of scrutinies, if the white smoke has not appeared yet, the cardinals will have a day of prayer and free discussion. Matteo Bruni, the director of the Vatican Press Office, has indicated that at this point there are "different interpretations," so they could stop on Saturday or Sunday.
If Thursday, when there was only one vote, is interpreted as the first day of voting, the prelates would stop on Saturday if there is no agreement by the end of Friday. On the contrary, if it is interpreted as three full days of voting (two in the morning and two in the afternoon), they would stop on Sunday if no agreement is reached by the end of Saturday.
Furthermore, if after four series of scrutinies there is no positive result, then, according to the Motu Proprio published by Benedict XVI, the cardinals may choose between the two most voted in the last scrutiny, although not by a majority but again they must reach "at least" the two-thirds of the votes.
Balconies rented for 500 euros per day
The election of the new Pope unleashes enormous interest worldwide. In St. Peter's, there are 5,300 journalists from around the world accredited. All the televisions on the planet are connected live. According to Fabrizio Roncone in the Corriere della Sera, the balconies of Via Paolo VI, which offer the best view of the chimney from which the white smoke will emerge, are rented for 500 euros per day.
The 133 elector cardinals return to the Sistine Chapel this afternoon
The 133 elector cardinals are expected to return around 4:30 p.m. to the Sistine Chapel after none of them reached the necessary majority of 89 votes to be elected the 267th Pontiff of the Catholic Church in the second and third votes held in the morning of this Thursday, after which black smoke appeared again at 11:51 a.m.
During lunch at Santa Marta, it is likely that they will converse among themselves after the results of the three votes. Later, they will head back to the Apostolic Palace around 3:45 p.m. This afternoon, starting at 4:30 p.m., two more votes are scheduled.
Favorites (VI): The Primate of Hungary, a scholarly and moderate papal candidate to reverse Francis' legacy
Cardinal Péter Erdö, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, is scholarly and disciplined, much in the style of Pope Benedict XVI. In fact, he was briefly considered as a possible successor after the resignation of the German in 2013. An admirer of Pope Paul VI, Cardinal Erdö, the Primate of Hungary and devotee of Saint Stephen, was one of the favorites of the late Australian Cardinal George Pell, who saw the Hungarian as a very suitable successor to Peter, someone who, above all and according to his vision, could restore the Rule of Law in the Vatican after the pontificate of a chaotic Francis.
Some seconds of white smoke after the black smoke confuse in St. Peter's Square
Some seconds of white smoke coming out of the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, after the black smoke on Thursday morning announcing that the cardinals had not chosen the new pope, confused everyone who had gathered in St. Peter's Square and also the journalists who were there.
Many of the media in St. Peter's Square aimed their cameras at the chimney after some faithful or curious people started shouting when they saw the white smoke coming out of the Sistine Chapel, while the bells rang at noon.
It was only a few seconds, but there was a lot of confusion since a few minutes earlier, at 11:50 local time (9:50 GMT), the black smoke had come out, announcing that in the two votes, no Pope had been chosen.
The cardinals retire for lunch
The 133 cardinals gathered in conclave to elect the successor of Francis retired for lunch at the Santa Marta residence after the two scrutinies of Thursday morning, in which a new pope was not elected, and at 4:30 local time (2:30 GMT) they will return to the Sistine Chapel for two more votes, reports Efe.
The cardinals returned to the Casa Santa Marta residence, where they sleep during the conclave and are completely isolated, for lunch.
It is a new opportunity for the cardinals, gathered in the large dining room of Santa Marta, to dialogue to try to reach a solution and for a name to obtain the majority of the necessary two-thirds, a total of 89 votes.
The Dean of the College of Cardinals expresses his desire for white smoke in the afternoon of Thursday
The Dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re, expressed his hope that this afternoon the white smoke indicating that the 133 elector cardinals locked in the Sistine Chapel have chosen a new Pope can be seen. "I hope that when I return to Rome this afternoon, I will already find the white smoke. I am particularly happy to be here at the beginning of the conclave so that the Holy Spirit blows strong and so that the Pope needed by the Church and the world today is elected," said Re from Pompeii, in southern Italy, where he went for a religious event, reports Efe.
The new Pope "will first have to try to strengthen faith in God in our world characterized by technological progress, but from a spiritual point of view, we have noticed a bit of forgetfulness of God, so a wake-up call is necessary," added the cardinal, recalling some of the passages of his homily at the Mass on Wednesday prior to the conclave.
As Dean of the College of Cardinals, Re has been involved in some of the preparations for the conclave and the general congregations of the cardinals, as well as officiating at the funeral of Pope Francis and the 'pro eligendo pontifice' Mass prior to the conclave.