On the second day of the conclave, history was made in the skies of Rome. Shortly after 6:00 p.m., the white smoke brought joy to the dozens of people waiting in St. Peter's Square, with their eyes fixed on the small chimney of the Sistine Chapel. The white smoke is the unmistakable sign that one of the 133 cardinals has gathered two-thirds of the votes, and now all that remains is for the new Pontiff to step out onto the balcony as the new Pope and present himself to the faithful for the first time under his new name.
This morning, at 11:51, earlier than expected, the negative result of the second and third conclave votes was announced (the first was yesterday afternoon). A deep disappointment swept through the square, which began to empty shortly after the black smoke dissipated.
The day for the cardinals began this morning at 8:00 at the Apostolic Palace to celebrate Mass and pray Lauds in the Pauline Chapel; then, at 9:15, they moved to the Sistine Chapel to recite the Ora Media and proceed to vote. They could vote up to four times today, until a cardinal reached the necessary two-thirds of the votes (89). Two fumatas were planned: one after the two morning votes - which turned out black -; and another after the evening votes, one at 5:30 p.m. and another at 7:00 p.m., when we looked up at the sky again.
Early on Thursday, Catholic schools organized visits with groups of students who prayed the rosary as they paraded down Via della Conciliazione to St. Peter's Basilica, while the cardinals voted in the Sistine Chapel. The area filled up throughout the morning with tourists and faithful who walked to await the result of the fumata for the morning votes.
Tens of thousands were present in the square, and thousands more followed the fumata from the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, where Pope Francis rests in his austere tomb. "We were lucky because we already had our trip to Rome planned, and now we can experience a historic moment," said a group of students who had come from France to St. Peter's Square.
The small Vatican City has been filled with journalists since the death of Francis, which marked the beginning of the sede vacante period on April 21. Stationed for hours to broadcast live the results of the fumatas, thousands were accredited to cover the funerals and the conclave. There are over 1.4 billion faithful worldwide waiting to know every minute of the conclave's progress, and the balconies of Via Paolo VI, offering the best view of the chimney from which the white smoke emerged, are rented for 500 euros a day, as reported by Corriere della Sera.
The 133 electors from 70 countries have been completely isolated within the Vatican walls since yesterday and surrounded by strong cybersecurity measures to prevent communications and leaks. The first day of the conclave began at 10:00 with the final Pro Elegendo Romano Pontifice Mass at St. Peter's Basilica, where Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals who officiated the funerals of Francis and Benedict XVI, urged the electors to choose "the Pope that the Church and humanity need in this difficult, complex, and tormented turn of history."
After lunch, the cardinals sang the Veni Creator Spiritus to invoke the Holy Spirit who would guide them when writing a name on the ballot. This was followed by the group oath of the College of Cardinals, and then the faithful who were already gathered in St. Peter's Square could watch on giant screens the individual oath of each of the 133 cardinals.
At 5:43 p.m., the Master of Pontifical Liturgical Ceremonies, Archbishop Diego Ravelli, pronounced the famous Extra Omnes ("Everyone out") and the doors of the temple decorated by Michelangelo were closed to the faithful cum clave, under lock and key. After a wait that became desperate for many of the 30,000 people gathered in St. Peter's Square, to the point of giving up and going home, the first fumata turned black, well into the night.
This second day was crucial, with Italian media suggesting that the white smoke could appear in one of the votes this afternoon or tomorrow. Giovanni Battista Re himself commented on this from Pompeii today: "I hope that when I return to Rome this afternoon, I will find the white smoke. I am particularly happy to be here at the beginning of the conclave so that the Holy Spirit blows strongly and for the Pope that the Church and the world need today," he said, emphasizing that the new Pope "will first have to try to strengthen faith in God in this world of ours characterized by technological progress, but where we have noticed a bit of 'forgetfulness of God' from a spiritual perspective." Therefore, "a wake-up call is necessary."
This conclave has been characterized by its unpredictability; there was no clear favorite, but several candidates, both primary and secondary, were in the running. Their names had been circulating for days before the votes. With 133 electors from around the world, many of whom did not know each other, they had twelve congregations (meetings) before their seclusion to share their different visions for the future of the Church.
During the congregation meetings, there was much speculation about possible candidates and their profiles. Among the list of multiple papabili, something that would make it difficult to unite the vote around a candidate, one name stood out above all: Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of the Vatican and president of the conclave, with a moderate continuity profile of the openness legacy initiated by Francis that would be accepted by conservatives. One hypothesis is that the newly elected Pope could be Italian, something that has not happened since 1978 with John Paul I, who, however, passed away after 33 days. In addition to Parolin, other Italians strongly considered are the President of the Italian Episcopal Conference and Archbishop of Bologna, Matteo Zuppi, from the more progressive wing; and the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa.
Following closely (or almost equally) behind Parolin is the Filipino cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, who has garnered great sympathy on social media for his spontaneity, even daring to sing Imagine. In his favor is the Church's interest in a region where vocations are on the rise, Asia, in contrast to the decline in followers in Europe. Other papabili include the Archbishop of Marseille, Jean-Marc Aveline; the Hungarian Péter Erdö; and the American (of Spanish descent) Robert Francis Prevost Martínez.
Experts point out that the fragmentation among the cardinals was going to make it difficult to reach a consensus. The longest conclave was in 1268, which lasted three years and resulted in the election of Pope Gregory X. At the other extreme, the shortest in history, only 10 hours to elect Pope Julius II in 1503. The cardinals take advantage of the informal meetings at the Santa Marta residence, where they stay and at lunchtime, to try to undo the voting. Francis, who was elected on the fifth ballot, the second day of the conclave, told in an interview how the cardinals finally decided for him: "The phenomenon of voting is interesting. There are strong candidates, but many people don't know where to cast their vote, so they choose six or seven," the late Pontiff explained. "Yes, I had some deposit votes, but nothing. Until that noon nothing. Then something happened at lunch. I saw some strange signs. They ask me about my health, about those things... and when we returned in the afternoon the cake was baked and in two ballots it was all over. It was a surprise for me too", she revealed.
In 2005, Benedict XVI needed four ballots and was also elected on the second day, and to elect John Paul II, in 1978, it took eight ballots at the end of the third day of the conclave.