As the sun set over Vatican City, plumes of black smoke emerged from the chimney atop the iconic Sistine Chapel, indicating that the 133 cardinals enclosed within had not managed to elect a new pope on the inaugural day of the conclave. The initial voting commenced at approximately 5:45 PM local time, following a formal procession to the chapel and an oath of secrecy taken by each cardinal. Anticipation built as spectators kept a close watch on the renowned chimney, which was humorously guarded by a seagull during the voting process.
After a prolonged wait, the black smoke finally billowed out at 9:05 PM, eliciting loud applause from the gathered crowd of over 45,000 people. The conclave is set to continue on Thursday and will persist until a successor to the late Pope Francis, who passed away last month at the age of 88, is determined.
Despite the expectation that a new pope would not be elected on the first day, St. Peter’s Square was teeming with visitors. Among them were Cinzia Caporali and her husband from Tuscany, who had traveled to Rome to pay their respects at Pope Francis’s tomb located at Santa Maria Maggiore basilica in the Esquilino neighborhood. Caporali reminisced about her experience during the election of Francis's predecessor, Benedict XVI, in April 2005. She vividly recalled the excitement in a nearby café as people shouted, “Fatto, fatto, fatto!” which means “It’s done.”
Reflecting on those moments, she expressed her hope that the next pope would continue the legacy of Francis, stating, “He was for the marginalized people, and we need to make sure this continues. We don’t want to see the flashy richness of the church; this is no longer in fashion.”
During the pre-conclave mass at St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday morning, Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, who also officiated Pope Francis's funeral, emphasized the importance of unity and responsibility among the voting cardinals. He urged them to set aside personal biases and to seek divine guidance in their decision-making process. “We are here to invoke the help of the Holy Spirit,” he stated, “so that the pope elected may be he whom the church and humanity need at this difficult and complex turning point in history.”
Re's message underscored the necessity for the cardinals to be driven by love, asserting that “love is the only force capable of changing the world.” However, the task of selecting a suitable successor to Pope Francis poses significant challenges, especially considering the diverse and often divided opinions within the college of cardinals.
Many cardinals had not previously met before arriving in Rome for the funeral, creating a complex dynamic. While some align with the progressive vision Francis championed during his 12-year papacy, others are inclined to revert to traditional practices. Nevertheless, there is a collective desire among the cardinals to avoid a lengthy election process, as they aim to present a unified front for the Catholic Church.
In the lead-up to the vote, cardinals engaged in twice-daily meetings where they discussed various pressing issues, including evangelization, the Vatican's finances, clerical sexual abuse, and service to the poor and migrants. Notably absent from these discussions was the contentious topic of the role of women in the church, a subject that Pope Francis had shown interest in promoting despite his firm stance against women becoming priests.
Recently, a coalition of Catholic women's groups advocating for women's ordination, including the UK-based Catholic Women’s Ordination (CWO), gathered in Rome. Prior to the conclave's commencement, bursts of pink smoke filled the air from Gianicolo Hill, overlooking St. Peter’s. Miriam Duignan, a leader among the CWO advocates, stated, “The cardinal-electors – 133 men – will use smoke signals to communicate to the world they have elected a new pope. As they refuse to listen to women and have rendered one half of the population of the global church silent and subservient, we communicated with them, also via smoke signals, in the hope they might open their eyes to the injustice they are upholding.”
The conclave continues to unfold, with the world eagerly awaiting the emergence of white smoke that will confirm the election of the next pope, marking a pivotal moment for the Catholic Church during a time of profound change and reflection.
