Black smoke sent out of Sistine Chapel chimney as cardinals begin top-secret vote for next pope

The 133 cardinals tasked with electing a new pope have again been locked inside the Sistine Chapel at Vatican City as they start a second round of voting. See the video, photos.

Cardinals have returned to the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel for another attempt to elect a new pope after the first conclave ballot failed to find a winner.

A total of 133 cardinals will again be locked away inside the 15th century chapel on Thursday, as many people gather at St Peter’s Square hoping to see white smoke billowing through the chapel’s chimney.

Black smoke poured out after the first round of voting to elect the 267th pope on day one of the conclave on Wednesday.

Tens of thousands of people congregated outside St Peter’s Basilica at Vatican City and the surrounding streets and waited patiently for the smoke signal.

Black smoke signals that a new pope has not yet been elected, whereas white smoke signals that a new pontiff has been chosen.

Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan outside the Vatican. Picture: Getty Images

Black smoke billows from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel. Picture: AP Photo

Nuns applaud as black smoke billows from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel during the cardinals' conclave to elect a new pope. Picture: AP

The result came after the first ballots were lodged on Wednesday evening and it was certainly no surprise given the diverse range of 133 cardinals who come from 70 countries and are expected to have vastly different voting intentions.

Black smoke rises from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel. Picture: AFP

Voting is set to resume again after cardinals failed to elect a new pope in the first ballot of their conclave. Picture: AFP

Earlier, the conclave’s master of ceremonies intoned “Extra omnes” which translates from Latin to “Everybody out” before shutting the heavy doors of the 15th century chapel.

It came after the pre-conclave mass was conducted at St Peter’s Basilica.

People watch and wait before black smoke was seen from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel meaning a new pope is not yet elected. Picture: Getty Images

The faithful gather in St Peter’s Square on the first day of the conclave. Picture: Getty Images

Excitement builds as the voting gets under way. Picture: Getty Images

The 133 cardinals arrived at the Sistine Chapel for the mass at 10am (Wednesday 6pm AEST) before they then enter the conclave and are shut off from the outside world for the most “complicated and confused” ballot in 50 years.

The mass was led by the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. Crowds have also gathered outside the Basilica and many of the streets leading to Vatican City have been cordoned off with security checkpoints implemented to check those entering the area.

Diego Giovanni Ravelli, Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations, closes the doors of the Sistine Chapel. Picture: AFP

Cardinals sit inside the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican at the start of the conclave. Picture: AP Photo

Cardinals arrive inside the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican at the start of the conclave to elect the successor of late Pope Francis. Picture: AP Photo

More than a dozen names have been floated as potential papal frontrunners, but former Vatican secretary of state Pietro Parolin and Filipino Luis Antonio Tagle were holding the tightest odds with bookmakers.

The 133 cardinals, from 70 countries, will from Wednesday be locked inside the 15th century Sistine Chapel at Vatican City for the start of the voting process – without any access to the outside world, until a new pope is elected.

The faithful watch for smoke from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel as conclave gets underway to elect the new pope. Picture: Getty Images

The anticipation is palpable outside the Sistine Chapel. Picture: Getty Images

The appointment of the 267th pope, following Pope Francis’s death on April 21, could take longer than the two to three day time frames in which most modern-day pontiffs have been elected.

The process has been complicated by the fact many cardinals barely know each, if at all – they are even wearing name badges to help identify themselves – and come from all over the globe.

Cardinals attend the fifth Novemdiales mass held for the late Pope Francis in St. Peters Basilica, on April 30. Now they will gather to elect a new pope, an act complicated by many of the 133 cardinals not knowing each other. Picture: Antonio Masiello/Getty Images

“I don’t think there’s the slightest doubt that this is the most complicated and confused conclave of the last 50 years,” longstanding Vatican reporter Paddy Agnew, from Ireland’s Sunday Independent newspaper, said.

“Some of the cardinals are from countries that have never had a cardinal before so they don’t know their way around the conclave process, they don’t know their way around Rome, they don’t even know each other.

“They have had a week of trying to work out what their priorities are but it will take a bit of time to establish.”

Cardinal Pietro Parolin. Picture: Andreas Solaro/AFP

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle. Picture: Tiziana Fabi/AFP

Mr Agnew, who has reported on the Vatican for more than 40 years, expects the cardinals to lean towards a progressive candidate, who channels his predecessor.

“At this point with 80 per cent of the cardinals having been chosen by Francis, 80 per cent of them very much being on the same page as him, I think they will go for somebody who looks like Francis but who that somebody is – it’s a bit harder to establish with any precision,” he said.

A majority vote is required to choose the next pope – this means at least 89 votes are needed from the 133 cardinals to be successful.

Ballots were set to begin on Wednesday at 4.30pm (Thursday 1.30am AEST), with one round of voting taking place on the conclave’s first day.

This will be followed by two rounds of voting each morning and afternoon (four daily) in the following days.

The seal with a word ”Conclave” as the entrances to the Apostolic Palace are being closed ahead of the conclave to elect the next pope in The Vatican. (Picture: Vatican Media/AFP

There will be one day’s break if a result is not reached by the weekend – Vatican sources said this will likely be on Saturday or Sunday – and then voting will resume the following day.

After every additional seven rounds of voting, if a pope is not elected, there will be another pause which will allow for prayers and informal discussions.

After 21 rounds of voting, if there is still no decision reached, there is another break and the cardinals may then only choose between two candidates who have successfully gained the most votes in the previous round.

When Pope Francis was successful at the church’s last conclave in 2013 there were 115 cardinals voting and he was selected in under two days.

The Vatican said the longest-ever conclave took place in 1274 at two years and two months to finally appoint Pope Gregory X – this is in stark contrast to in 1503 when it took just a few hours to elect Pope Julius II.

Once the new pope is successfully appointed he will be taken to the “Room of Tears” located next to the Sistine Chapel, where tailor Raniero Mancinelli, 86, has cut the robe that will welcome the new pope.

Italian tailor Raniero Mancinelli nearly finishes tailoring the white cassocks for the future Pope in his shop in Rome. The 86-year-old has handcrafted the cassocks for three Popes. Picture: Stefano Costantino/ AFP

He has handmade lightweight wool cassocks, sashes and white zucchettos in three sizes to fit any pope that is chosen.

The victorious pontiff will don the outfit, then make his entrance to the world as the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

Originally published as Black smoke sent out of Sistine Chapel chimney as cardinals begin top-secret vote for next pope