Wafric News – May 8, 2025

The world’s attention remains fixed on the Sistine Chapel as Roman Catholic cardinals resumed voting on Thursday to elect a new pope, after a first day of deliberations ended without consensus.

Black smoke once again rose from the chapel’s chimney—an unmistakable symbol that no candidate has yet achieved the required two-thirds majority to become the next spiritual leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.

A signal steeped in centuries of tradition, white smoke will appear only when a new pope has been chosen.

This year's conclave, which began Wednesday, is the largest and most globally diverse in the Church's history, with 133 voting cardinals from every inhabited continent. Their task: to identify a leader who can carry the weight of one of the world’s oldest institutions into an era marked by deep social, political, and moral transformation.

Many had speculated that this conclave would be swift, with some cardinals suggesting a strong frontrunner might emerge early. But as history shows, electing a pope often takes more than a day. A candidate must receive at least 89 votes to secure the papacy.

No pontiff in modern times has been elected on the first ballot—a fact that tempered expectations going into this historic ritual. Still, based on recent conclaves, a result by the end of Thursday remains likely. Pope Francis, whose death last month ended a decade-long papacy, was elected in 2013 after five rounds of voting, also on the second day.

His predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, was chosen in 2005 after just four votes across two days.

Now, as the cardinals continue their solemn work under Michelangelo’s frescoes and the eyes of a watching world, Catholics and observers alike await the moment the white smoke rises—a moment that will usher in a new era for the global Church.


By WafricNews Desk.