New pope has been chosen as white smoke emanates from Sistine Chapel chimney

edward d. White smoking billows from Sistine Chapel chimney, young alexander pope elected

See the moment white smoke emerges at Sistine Chapel

Throwback: The moment the Vatican picked the last pope

These tourists are staying in Italy until they see white smoke

White smoke billows from Sistine Chapel chimney, new pope elected

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If you’re new to this conclave process, you may have heard of the Room of Tears and assumed that, well, it’s not a room anyone would want to enter.

But in fact, it’s a room anyone vying to be the new pope hopes to set foot in.

The Room of Tears is a small room right off the Sistine Chapel where the newly elected pope goes to don the white papal vestments for the first time, changing out of the red clothes of a cardinal.

The room’s solemn name comes from the emotional weight of the responsibility ahead, notes The Associated Press, and entering it can cause intense emotions, as the new pope stops for a moment of silence before greeting the world for the first time.

See the moment white smoke emerges at Sistine Chapel

A plume of white smoke was seen coming from the Sistine Chapel chimney on Thursday, meaning cardinals gathered for the papal conclave have selected a new leader for the Catholic Church.

Like everything else, what happens next as we await is steeped in centuries of tradition.

The new pope will select his papal name, then enter the Room of Tears, a small room right off the Sistine Chapel where he will don the white papal vestments for the first time, changing out of the red clothes of a cardinal.

One by one, the red-clad cardinals will approach to swear their obedience.

The new pope will stop and pray in the Pauline Chapel for a few minutes before emerging on the loggia of the balcony overlooking St. Peter's Square.

Preceding him to the balcony is a cardinal who announces "Habemus papam!" ("We have a pope!") and then introduces him to the world in Latin.

So now we watch and wait, turning our eyes from the chimney to the balcony.

The crowd is cheering and the bells are tolling in St. Peter’s Square as white smoke continues to billow from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel.

Even the dogs are barking.

The Catholic Church has a new pope, and now the world waits to see who will appear on the balcony.

White smoke is currently billowing from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, signalling that the cardinal electors have elected a new pope in the fourth round of voting.

This means there is a new leader of the Catholic Church, although we don’t know who — yet.

Now that the cardinals are back from lunch, you may be wondering — what do they eat?

Starting in 1274, it used to be that the cardinals were only allowed one meal a day during conclave, if voting stretched beyond three days, and only bread, water and wine if it went beyond eight. This was an effort to keep things moving quickly.

That restriction has been dropped, but evidently the meals the cardinals eat now can leave something to be desired.

“Food you could eat in a train station,” is how Cardinal Mauro Piacenza described it in the New York Times.

He then elaborated, describing plain pastas with “watery sauce,” simple cutlets and salads.

They eat at Casa Santa Marta, a guesthouse in the Vatican where they also sleep, and the food is prepared by nuns, according to the BBC. It’s typically simple, regional cuisine.

The BBC points out that food is seen as a potential risk to the secrecy of voting, as a message could be hidden in a ravioli or sent out in a napkin. So traditionally “closed” foods, like whole chickens and pies, aren’t permitted.

After two votes this morning yielded no new pope, the cardinal electors undertook their fourth ballot at around 4 p.m. Local time (10 a.m. ET).

Smoke could emerge from the Sistine Chapel chimney, this time, if the 133 cardinals have come to a decision. The thousands in St. Peter's Square are watching in suspense that white smoke could come from that pipe.

My colleague Margaret Evans, who is on the ground in the square, says that excitement has "been building all day long."

There were ups and downs throughout the day today, with the second plume of black smoke followed by a long lunch break for the cardinals. It's a hot and sunny day, with many searching for shade and napping as they wait.

"A lot of really high expectations here, not just for the faithful … but also tourists in a beautiful city and those who want to witness history," Margaret said.

After inconclusive votes on Wednesday evening and this morning, the 133 cardinals face one or two more rounds of voting this afternoon. The front-runners are Italian Cardinal and Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, and Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, as we’ve highlighted lower down.

If neither can secure the 89 votes needed for a two-thirds majority, others could emerge as surprise contenders. Potential "dark horse" candidates being discussed include France's Jean-Marc Aveline, Hungary's Peter Erdo, American Robert Prevost, Italy's Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and Filipino Pablo Virgilio David.

As cardinals locked themselves inside the Sistine Chapel on the first day of the conclave, a different kind of signal rose from a square overlooking St. Peter’s: Pink smoke.

For decades now, activists from WOW (Women’s Ordination Worldwide) have protested the exclusion of women from the priesthood, and most decision-making roles in the Catholic Church.

I’ve covered their protests at synods, priest gatherings and conclaves over the years and many times have interviewed the group’s executive director, Kate McElwee.

Last night after their protest, I bumped into Kate and the other WOW women at a trattoria near the Vatican. They told me that after yesterday’s protest, when they tried to get near St. Peter’s Square to watch the smoke, police detained six of them, calling them a "security threat." Police have banned them from the square for the rest of the conclave, they said.

"We’re seen as dangerous simply for calling out sexism in the church," said McElwee.

'The wound has never closed': Advocates call for next pope to act swiftly against sexual abuse

Gemme Hickey, board president of Ending Clergy Abuse, says the organization wants the next pope to build on the work Pope Francis did against sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.

Hi, I'm Verity and I am back curating your live updates today. Not everyone in Rome is watching the conclave in awe. Some are waiting more so in anticipation.

Gemma Hickey, board president of Ending Clergy Abuse, is a survivor of religious institutional abuse. Hickey is currently in Rome to urge the church to shift its policy on clerics accused of sexual abuse, including canon law reform and mandatory reporting.

They have been working with the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome to help revise those laws.

"Survivors deserve more than symbolic gestures," said Hickey, who is from Newfoundland and Labrador. "The wound has never closed. I don't know if it will, but what we need to see are reforms."

The group wants Canon law to be applied all over the world, in a similar fashion to the exception Francis made in 2022 for the United States to prosecute bishops for abuse that occurred in Boston and elsewhere in that country.

Pretty old, mostly.

Electors must be under 80 years old, and many of them are quite close. The average age of this group of electors is 70, and 15 of the cardinals squeaked in at age 79.

The oldest, Spanish Cardinal Carlos Osoro Sierra turns 80 in just eight days, on May 16 — almost too old to vote.

The youngest is Cardinal Mykola Bychok, an Australian, representing the elder millennials at age 45.

There are 135 cardinals eligible to vote in Conclave, but two were unable to travel to Rome. So, 133 are currently participating.

Just 15 of them are under age 60, and Bychok is the only one in his 40s.

So while this may be the most geographically diverse group yet, with voting cardinals hailing from 71 different countries, they’re mostly around the same age — with a few outliers.

That’s not surprising, given the time it takes to rise in the ranks of the Catholic Church; the typical path moves from priest, to bishop, to archbishop, to cardinal (with exceptions).

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