After the cardinals did not elect a pope in the first round of voting that took place on Wednesday night, the second round of voting ended the same – the cardinals still did not reach an agreement.
Just before 12 o’clock, black smoke appeared from the chimney above the Sistine Chapel, which means that the cardinals did not reach an agreement even in the morning vote. This is not so surprising considering that cardinals have never elected a pope in a second round of voting in modern history.
The cardinals will have two more votes today, and if the pope is elected in the next few hours, white smoke will be over the Sistine Chapel already at 5:30 p.m. If the cardinals do not elect a pope by then, no smoke will appear from the chimney at 5:30 p.m. In that case, the faithful will have to wait until 19:00, that is, the end of the last round of voting for today.
The conclave is expected to last several days, given that there is currently no clear favorite among the candidates. Italian cardinal Pietro Parolin, Filipino Luis Antonio Tagle, French Jean-Marc Aveline, Hungarian Peter Erdo, American Robert Prevost and Archbishop of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa are mentioned among the potential successors of the pope.
Most of the cardinal-electors were appointed by Pope Francis, which increases the chances that his successor will continue the reform course.
