Black smoke has poured out of the Sistine Chapel chimney, indicating no pope was elected on the first ballot of the conclave to choose a new leader of the Catholic Church. The smoke billowed out at 9 p.m. Wednesday, some four hours after 133 cardinals solemnly entered the Sistine Chapel, took their oaths of secrecy and formally opened the centuries-old ritual to elect a successor to Pope Francis to lead the 1.4 billion-member church. With no one securing the necessary two-thirds majority, or 89 votes, the cardinals will retire for the night to the Vatican residences where they are being sequestered. They return to the Sistine Chapel Thursday morning.
The pope looms so large in everyday Italian life that there are lots of expressions that make light of even a dark event like his death. "A pope dies, they make another," goes one, suggesting how life goes on. His possible successor a matter of intense gossip everywhere, from taxicabs to butchers' shops. Pope Francis' recent bout with pneumonia, which has landed him in the hospital for the fourth time, has fueled more speculation. This time, that's been fueled by the movie "Conclave," which has reminded the world about the arcane rules and spectacular drama involved in a papal election and turned viewers into armchair experts.
