Conclave live: Cardinals set for more talks after black smoke signals no pope chosen on first day
Cardinals in the secret conclave are set for another round of discussions on Thursday after failing to select the next pope on the first day of voting.
Black smoke has poured from the Sistine Chapel chimney, signalling the 133 cardinals taking part have voted but have not yet reached a two-thirds consensus required to elect a new leader of the Catholic Church.
The smoke is the only public sign of what is happening during the Papal Conclave, after the cardinals handed in their phones and took oaths of secrecy while the Vatican shut down mobile phone towers to protect the deliberations.
The conclave began with a mass in St Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday morning, and senior cardinal Giovanni Battista Re prayed for the cardinals to be enlightened to choose “the Pope our time needs”.
Standing before Michelangelo’s famous vision of heaven and hell, the cardinals swore to carry out the solemn duty of selecting a new Pope.
Cardinals Pietro Parolin and Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle have been among the favourites to succeed Pope Francis, who made liberal changes to the Catholic Church during his 12-year papacy.
