White smoke rose from the chimney of the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel on Thursday, signaling that the 133 cardinals inside have successfully elected a new pope.
The cardinals picked a successor to Pope Francis on the second day of voting, but the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics will have to wait for the official announcement from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica to learn who he is.
The smoke was met with loud applause from the thousands of pilgrims and tourists waiting in St Peter’s Square.
They are happy because the smoke means that one of the 133 cardinals inside the chapel has obtained the necessary two-thirds majority required to win the conclave, the secretive centuries-old ritual of electing a new pontiff.
In a further confirmation that the conclave is over, the bells of St Peter’s Basilica rang out. The pope was chosen on the second day of voting, after the fourth ballot, although his identity was not immediately made known.
When Jorge Bergoglio, who became Pope Francis, was elected in March 2013, his identity was revealed about 45 minutes after the white smoke when he appeared on the balcony above St Peter’s Square.
