After the first day of the conclave ended with no new pope, 133 cardinals representing 70 countries gather again behind closed doors on Thursday to continue deliberating on who will be the new leader of the Catholic Church.
From today, two ballots will be held 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. Although it is impossible to know who the cardinals are favouring at this point, Cardinals Pietro Parolin and Luis Antonio Tagle remain strong contenders, according to insiders.
The most geographically diverse College of Cardinals in the Catholic Church’s 2,000-year history will follow centuries-old rituals inside the Sistine Chapel to decide who will lead the 1.4 billion faithful.
In the past century, it has taken between three and eight ballots to choose a pontiff.
Live updates
How is today’s morning vote expected to play out?
The second day of the conclave includes four voting sessions, two in the morning and two in the afternoon.
But not each will be followed by a smoke signal. Indeed, if the 89-vote threshold is reached in any voting session, white smoke will arise from the Sistine Chapel’s chimney. The first chance to see it is as early as 10:30, or as soon as the first voting round is completed.
If the required number of votes is not reached, black smoke will arise, but only after the second and the fourth ballots, meaning around noon and in the evening (or around 7 pm).
In short: if the new pontiff is not elected in the first and third voting sessions of the day, the cardinals will immediately proceed with the next round, meaning no need for black smoke.
Who is the favourite to become the next pope today?
Due to the conclave’s closed-door nature, it is impossible to know who the cardinals are favouring at this point.
Yet the press and the insiders have said that Cardinals Pietro Parolin and Luis Antonio Tagle remain strong contenders on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Italian press has begun to suggest that Tagle might ask his supporters at the conclave to vote for Parolin, who seems the most electable at the moment.
However, if Thursday ends without a new pontiff elected, that could mean it’s over for Parolin, as the cardinals might see the repeat votes as a sign it’s time to turn to another candidate.
The names of Matteo Zuppi and Pierbattista Pizzaballa are still getting traction, while the Spanish press reported that as many as three Spanish cardinals have become electable: Cristobal Lopez, Angel Fernandez Artime and Pablo Virgilio David.
What happened yesterday
The conclave’s first day did not lead to the election of the new pontiff, as widely expected.
After the final Mass before the beginning of the conclave on Wednesday, ‘Pro Eligendo Pontifice’, officiated by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re in St Peter’s Basilica at 10 in the morning, the 133 cardinals electors were locked inside the Sistine Chapel.
According to a senior Vatican official, Cardinal Re urged the electors to choose someone capable of leading the Church through this “difficult and complex” period.
Around 40,000 people gathered in St Peter’s Square to witness the first vote, applauding when the conclave doors closed.
The black smoke signal came in over two hours after the expected timing, leading to several speculations on the reasons for the delay. However, the explanation for the delay was that this is the largest conclave in the history of the Catholic Church, and each vote cast adds to the procedure, delaying the smoke.
Conclave’s second day begins
The second day of the conclave started at the Vatican: the 133 cardinal electors gathered anew in the Sistine Chapel after the first black smoke was registered yesterday.
At 7:45 am, the cardinals attended Mass and started the voting procedure.
Four voting sessions are scheduled today: two in the morning and two in the afternoon. Two rounds of smoke signalling their decision will appear above St Peter’s Square: one around noon and another around 7 p.m.
If the 89 votes required to elect a new pope are reached, we’ll see white smoke. If not, black smoke will be emitted.
SOURCE: EURONEWS
