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VATICAN CITY (AP) — Black fume is pouring retired of the Sistine Chapel chimney, indicating nary pope was elected connected the archetypal ballot of the conclave to take a caller person of the Catholic Church.
The fume billowed retired astatine 9 p.m. Wednesday, immoderate 4 hours aft 133 cardinals solemnly entered the Sistine Chapel, took their oaths of secrecy and formally opened the centuries-old ritual to elite a successor to Pope Francis to pb the 1.4 billion-member church.
With nary 1 securing the indispensable two-thirds majority, oregon 89 votes, the cardinals volition discontinue for the nighttime to the Vatican residences wherever they are being sequestered.
They instrumentality to the Sistine Chapel connected Thursday morning.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier communicative follows below.
VATICAN CITY (AP) — With the outcry of “Extra omnes” — Latin for “all out” — the large doors of the Sistine Chapel closed Wednesday and 133 cardinals began the secretive, centuries-old ritual of electing a caller person of the Catholic Church, opening the most geographically divers conclave in the faith’s 2,000-year history.
The red-robed cardinals entered the Sistine Chapel successful pairs, chanting the meditative “Litany of the Saints” arsenic Swiss Guards stood astatine attention. The hymn, and the 1 that followed, implores the saints and the Holy Spirit to assistance the cardinals find a successor to Pope Francis to lead the 1.4 billion-strong Catholic Church.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the caput of authorities nether Francis and himself a starring contender to win him arsenic pope, assumed the enactment of the proceedings arsenic the elder cardinal nether property 80 and eligible to enactment successful the conclave.
Speaking successful Latin, Parolin stood earlier Michelangelo's imaginativeness of eden and hell, “The Last Judgment,” and led the cardinals successful a lengthy oath. Each 1 followed, placing his manus connected the Gospel and promising successful Latin to support utmost secrecy.
The melodramatic ritual was much colorful than adjacent Hollywood could create, a lavation of colors, chants, incense and solemnity that underscored the seriousness of the moment. Outside successful St. Peter's Square, hundreds of radical watched the proceedings connected elephantine video screens until the Vatican provender chopped off.
Hailing from 70 countries, the cardinals have been sequestered from the extracurricular world, their cellphones surrendered and airwaves astir the Vatican jammed to forestall each communications until they find a caller pope.
Francis named 108 of the 133 “princes of the church,” choosing galore pastors successful his representation from far-flung countries similar Mongolia, Sweden and Tonga that had ne'er had a cardinal before.
His determination to surpass the accustomed bounds of 120 cardinal electors and see younger ones from the “global south” — often marginalized countries with little economical clout — has injected an unusual grade of uncertainty in a process that is ever afloat of enigma and suspense, with fume signals telling the satellite if a pope has been elected oregon not.
Many cardinals hadn’t met until past week and lamented they needed much clip to get to cognize 1 another, raising questions astir however agelong it mightiness instrumentality for 1 antheral to unafraid the two-thirds majority, oregon 89 ballots, indispensable to go the 267th pope.
“Wait and see, a small patience, hold and see,” said Cardinal Mario Zenari, the Vatican’s ambassador to Syria.
A last Mass, past ‘All out’
Earlier successful the day, the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, presided implicit a greeting Mass successful St. Peter’s Basilica urging the voters to acceptable speech each idiosyncratic interests and find a pope who prizes unity. The satellite contiguous needs a person who tin awaken consciences, helium said.
“Let america commune that God volition assistance the religion a pope who knows however champion to awaken the consciences of each and the motivation and spiritual energies successful today’s society,” Re said.
He reminded them that the awesomeness of the Sistine Chapel's frescoes, and Michelangelo's successful particular, is meant to punctual the cardinals of the weighty work they bear. In his regulations for the conclave, St. John Paul II wrote that successful the Sistine Chapel, “everything is conducive to an consciousness of the beingness of God.”
After the cardinals took their oaths, the maestro of papal liturgical ceremonies, Archbishop Diego Ravelli, called out “Extra omnes,” and anyone not eligible to ballot near earlier the chapel doors closed. An aged cardinal remained to present a meditation, but aft it was finished, he, too, had to leave.
The cardinals don’t person to instrumentality a archetypal ballot Wednesday, but they are expected to. Assuming nary victor is found, the Vatican said achromatic fume could beryllium expected retired of the Sistine Chapel chimney astir 7 p.m.
The cardinals discontinue for the nighttime and instrumentality Thursday morning. They tin clasp up to 2 ballots successful the greeting and 2 successful the day until a victor is found.
While cardinals this week said they expected a abbreviated conclave, it volition apt instrumentality astatine slightest a fewer rounds of voting. For overmuch of the past century, it has taken betwixt 3 and 14 ballots to find a pope. John Paul I — the pope who reigned for 33 days successful 1978 — was elected connected the 4th ballot. His successor, John Paul II, needed eight. Francis was elected connected the 5th successful 2013.
Lobbying earlier the conclave
While the cardinals are expected to defy immoderate “secular” influences successful their choice, specified lobbying abounded successful Rome successful the days earlier the conclave arsenic assorted groups reminded cardinals of what mean Catholics privation successful a leader.
Young Catholics penned an unfastened missive reminding cardinals that determination is nary religion without young people, women and the laity. Conservative Catholic media slipped cardinals copies of a glossy publication containing their assessments of contenders. Survivors of clergy intersexual maltreatment warned cardinals that they would beryllium held accountable if they failed to find a person who volition ace down connected decades of maltreatment and cover-up.
Advocates for women’s ordination sent pinkish fume signals implicit the Vatican to request that women beryllium allowed to beryllium priests and enactment successful a conclave.
Even the White House got involved, posting a photograph of President Donald Trump dressed arsenic a pope. Trump said it was a joke, but the motion was denounced by erstwhile Italian Premier Romano Prodi arsenic “indecent” governmental interference successful matters of religion that harked backmost to times erstwhile secular rulers habitually wielded religion to enactment successful power.
Lisette Herrera, a 54-year-old tourer from the Dominican Republic, was profoundly moved to find herself by accidental successful Rome arsenic the conclave began. She decided Wednesday greeting to skip the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain and commune alternatively successful St. Peter’s Square.
“I’m praying to the Holy Spirit for a young pope who would enactment with america for a agelong time,” she said. “I don’t judge successful conclave politics, I conscionable consciousness that the Holy Spirit is present and that’s each we request to know.”
Armando Statti, a pilgrim from Crotone, Italy, said helium expected cardinals would settee connected a pope successful the representation of Francis oregon John Paul II.
“We anticipation helium volition beryllium announced arsenic soon arsenic possible, for the involvement of the full satellite and for peace, and that helium volition clasp everyone," helium said.
Challenges facing a caller pope
Many challenges face the caller pope and measurement connected the cardinals — supra each whether to proceed and consolidate Francis’ progressive bequest connected promoting women, LGBTQ+ acceptance, the situation and migrants, oregon rotation it backmost to effort to unify a religion that became much polarized during his pontificate. The clergy enactment maltreatment scandal hung implicit the pre-conclave talks.
Since Francis chose 80% of the voters, continuity is likely, but the signifier it mightiness instrumentality is uncertain and identifying front-runners has been a challenge.
But immoderate names support appearing connected lists of “papabile,” oregon cardinals having the qualities to beryllium pope.
— Cardinal Pietro Parolin, 70, an Italian who was Francis' caput of authorities and the Vatican No. 2, is simply a starring contender.
— Filipino Cardinal Luis Tagle, 67, is simply a apical campaigner to beryllium history’s archetypal Asian pope. He had a likewise high-profile job, heading the Vatican’s evangelization bureau liable for the Catholic Church successful overmuch of the processing world.
— Hungarian Cardinal Peter Erdo, 72, the archbishop of Budapest, is simply a starring campaigner representing the much blimpish helping of the church.
