Cardinals in secret conclave failed twice to elect a new pope this morning, as black smoke over the Sistine Chapel showed ballots on the first full day of voting were inconclusive. After an inconclusive first vote on Tuesday night, the 115 cardinal electors should hold another two ballots later on Wednesday after praying for inspiration from God for a choice that can lead the Roman Catholic Church out of crisis. Having spent the night closeted in a nearby guesthouse, the cardinals attended Mass in the Pauline Chapel in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace and returned to the Sistine Chapel to hold the two morning ballots. When a pope is elected, white smoke will emerge from the chapel and the bells of St Peter’s will peal. Only one vote was held on Tuesday night with black smoke billowing from a chimney above the chapel to signal no pope had been elected. No modern conclave has reached a decision on the first day,so the lack of an outcome on Tuesday’s single vote was no surprise. Before the doors of the chapel were shut, all the cardinals below the age of 80, when the papal seat was declared vacant on February 28, made an oath of secrecy in Latin before the voting started.
