Black smoke rose from the newly-installed chimney at the Vatican today signaling that a vote had occurred but the 2/3 majority had not been reached for any candidate.
We do not have a pope yet. But the College of Cardinals has voted.
Hopefully, it won’t be long.
A New York Times story describing this says in part:
VATICAN CITY — The cardinals of the Catholic Church held their first ballot on Tuesday to elect a pope, with black smoke signaling no winner on the first day of their conclave inside the Sistine Chapel.
Night had fallen by the time the smoke rose, but people who had flocked to St. Peter’s Square on this cold, rainy evening could watch the spotlighted chimney on giant screens set up in St. Peter’s Square. Some shrieked in excitement as the thick smoke began billowing out.
The outcome was expected, since all 115 of the cardinals are theoretically candidates, and the winner must receive two-thirds, or 77, of the votes. In past modern conclaves, the first ballot essentially served as a primary, when a number of cardinals emerged as leading vote-getters. Subsequent rounds made clear where the votes were flowing. The smoke will be white when a pope is elected.
The cardinals, who are staying in seclusion in the ’s Santa Marta residence, will return to the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday morning. The schedule calls for two rounds of voting in the morning and two in the evening, as needed. (Read at the rest here.)http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/13/world/europe/vatican-pope-selection-conclave.html?_r=0
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