White smoke billowed from the chimney atop the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel on Thursday, signalling that the 133 cardinals inside have elected a new pope.
They picked a successor to Pope Francis on the second day of voting, but the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics will have to wait for the official announcement from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica to learn who he is.
In a further confirmation that the conclave is over, the bells of St Peter’s Basilica rang out. The pope was chosen on the second day of voting, after the fourth ballot, although his identity was not immediately made known. When Jorge Bergoglio, who became Pope Francis, was elected in March 2013, his identity was revealed about 45 minutes after the white smoke when he appeared on the balcony above St Peter’s Square.
