The first cardinal vote in conclave It ended shortly after 22:00 in the evening (Greek time) with black tobacco coming out of the chimney of the Sistina hats. This means that there is still no young Priest.
The process in the Conclave for the election of the new Pope, which included 133 cardinals, will continue tomorrow Thursday with up to four votes – two in the morning and two in the afternoon.
The whole process lasted over three hours, Much more than it was foreseen yesterday in the Vatican type hall. Something that may be due to -to a degree- In the number of records of the cardinals of the cardinals And that they come from seventy different countries.
The news of the fruitless first voting makes the world round in a matter of seconds.
Tomorrow is expected to be held four votes, two in the morning and two in the afternoon. According to analysts, the chances of election of the new Pope will increase on tomorrow, as in 2005 the Pope Benedict had been elected during the fourth vote and the Pope Francis, In 2013, on Thursday.
Extra Omnes and the door closure in Sistina hats
Extra All: It was shortly before 19:00 Greek time on Wednesday afternoon (07.05.25) when the phrase marking the start for the concussion was heard.
The heavy doors of the chapel of Hat of Sistina with the masterpieces of Michael Angelos closed for the first electoral process.
The 133 cardinals began to vote in a secret process, which lasted for more than two hours, with the first smoke from the chimney of Sistina at 22:00 in the evening of Greece.
Had preceded The vows of the cardinals.
Each cardinal touches the book with the oath, declares its name and then says, “I promise, I commit and swear.”
#Conclave2025: The 133 Cardinal Vlectors swear according to the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis of John Paul II.
➡️https://t.co/WKdTBkVXQj#Vaticannewsit pic.twitter.com/3ojjfjtFZ3— Vatican News (@vaticannews_it) May 7, 2025
After the doors were closed, the Cardinals, which would be the members of the “Electoral Committee”, were elected, according to the ritual.
And the process of voting begins.
Along with the ballots on the Sistina hats stove and all the notes that the various electors can take, according to the principle of compulsory, absolute secrecy.
The cardinals were locked behind the heavy wooden doors of the Sistina hats, isolated from the rest of the world, to elect the next Pope. In a ceremony dating from medieval years, 133 electors They were slowly entered the chapel before giving a secrecy oath to the strict gaze of Christ As depicted in Michael Angelos’ “final crisis”, which adorns the room.
Reflection to delay the result
Tina Betty, a former professor of Catholic Studies at the University of Rosehampton, told the BBC News that “everyone was a little amazed” about why the first vote was so long.
She expressed her surprise that the vote had entered the third hour, and estimated that this might have been due to the fact that “the speech lasted more than expected or to something as simple as that”.
#Conclave2025: The 133 Cardinal Vlectors swear according to the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis of John Paul II.
https://t.co/WKdTBkVXQj#Vaticannewsit pic.twitter.com/3ojjfjtFZ3— Vatican News (@vaticannews_it) May 7, 2025
He added that many of the cardinals in Sistina hats are new to the process, so “it is likely that it will not be as smoothly as it would happen if everyone was more experienced.”
“We must not underestimate how demanding the process for the younger cardinals can be,” Betty concluded.
Over 45,000 faithful in St. Peter’s Square
It is early noon when the first faithful start coming to St. Peter’s Square. A few hours later … Picture of the Laubar.
The balconies and terraces around St. Peter’s Square were crowded with people who tried to maintain a scouting visual contact with the chimney of the chapel.
For the outside world, the only information on the progress of the Conclave is the smoke from the church chimney when the ballots are burned after each round of voting. Black tobacco marks failure.
‘Different but divided’
The 133 cardinals with the right to vote know each other and share visions for the future of the Church during daily meetings they had before the Conclave since April 28. However, how difficult it is expected to be the decision to elect a new Pope was summarized in his phrase Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjothe Archbishop of Jakarta, who was the last cardinal who arrived in Rome, typically telling reporters: ‘There is a lot of confusion’after hearing speeches of 50 cardinals. “We’ve heard a lot of voices, it’s not easy to draw conclusions.”
During the two weeks that followed the death of Pope Francis, the Cardinals met almost daily in the Vatican for pre-colonial gatherings, known as general gatherings. While the Conclave in Sistina Hat is limited to cardinals who have not yet reached the age of 80, These preliminary meetings are open to all 252 cardinals.
However, this is the most diverse session that has ever been done and this is because Pope Francis tried to do the College of Cardinals more inclusive by choosing many from the world southespecially because Africa and Asia are the areas with the highest development of Catholicism.
So for the first time, representatives from the green cape, Haiti, South Sudan, Tonga, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea and Rwanda participated in the process.
Faithful pray for the election of the new Pope
Crowds of people from every corner of the globe today found themselves in St. Peter’s Square, with pictures showing faithful praying before the Conclave began.
How much can a conclave last?
It is well known that the cardinals do not have to honor a specific deadline. Historically, the voting process has lasted from one day (March 1939, due to the forthcoming World War II) up to 1,006 days (between 1962 and 1971).
In 1996, Pope John Paul II gave the Universi Dominici Gregis (renewed in 2013), known as the Apostolic Constitution, with all the details of what happens after the death of a Pope.
Since then, an average condition for a new Pope It’s 15 days.
Cardinals will vote up to four times each day.
Because a two -thirds majority is required for the election of the new Pope, the procedure may take some time, although the last two cones were completed by the end of the second day.
The voting process
For voting in the morning and afternoon, in two different sessions, nine cardinals are selected by chance, which take on specific roles in each session:
Three auditors oversee the vote, Three Infirmarii, As they are called, they gather patients’ votes and three reviewers which confirm the results.
Each cardinal writes his choice on a paper with the Latin words “I elect as a supreme modifice.” They approach the Holy Bank one by one and say, “I call as my witness, Christ the Lord, who will be my judge, that my vote is given to Him who, before God, I believe must be elected.”
The folded ballot paper placed in a round container. Then the ballots open one by one of three virals who mark TA names and read them loud.
The cardinals can keep their own counting on a paper provided, but they must deliver their notes to burn at the end of the vote.
The auditors then add the votes and write the results on separate paper, which is kept in the papal files.
As the controller reads each name, pierces each ballot paper with a needle through the word ‘eligo’ (Latin for “I choose”), ties the ballots with a thread and ties a knot.
Then the ballots are sidelined and burn on the chapel stove with a chemist to produce white or black tobaccoWhite when he is elected young Pope and black when not elected.