Black Smoke, No Pope! As 133 Cardinals From 70 Nations Fail To Build Consensus, What Next For Vatican?

The search for the successor of Pope Francis will continue on Thursday, as 133 cardinals from 70 nations failed to build consensus for a new pontiff. As black smoke billowed from the world's most-watched chimney to signal a stalemate in the Sistine Chapel, cardinals will remain indulged in multiple casting rounds of votes until the new leader of the Catholic Church is selected.

Pope Francis died on Easter Monday at the age of 88. He had worked to make the 1.4 billion-member Catholic Church more universal. Pope Francis died after a stroke followed by subsequent irreversible heart failure. His death was confirmed and announced by the Pope's "camerlengo".

Papal Conclave Continues: What We Know So Far

-Papal Conclave remains a secretive conclave process. After every round of voting, the world keenly awaits smoke signals: black, which means an election didn't yield any result after failing to reach a two-thirds majority. White smoke means the voting round didn't build any consensus.

-Cardinals voting on Wednesday failed to select a new pope in the first secret vote of the papal conclave. Voting is likely to continue on Thursday. According to reports, the ongoing voting is one of the least predictable in the history of papal elections.

-There will be multiple rounds of voting held on Thursday. A morning's first secret ballot will be held on Thursday to identify a clear winner, if the voting fails, a second vote will be held, followed by two more votes in afternoon if the stalemate continues, reported AFP.

-Pope Francis was elected in five rounds of voting, whereas its predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, was elected in four. According to the Washington Post, the decision is likely to come by Thursday.

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-The cardinals will stay behind doors and live in secrecy as they continue to be a part of the papal conclave. They will not come out of the church unless a clear decision is made on the election of the 267th pope.

-Top contenders for successor of Pope Francis are Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle and several others from the long list, reported Washington Post.

-Pietro Parolin is a moderate leader and Francis's top diplomatic envoy since 2013.

-The procession to the Sistine Chapel marked the beginning of the conclave. As the procession continued, cardinals issued a prayer to "evoke without delay the grace of the Holy Spirit so that one from among us might be elected a worthy pastor for the whole flock of Christ."

-The 133 cardinals, part of the conclave, have joined from more than 65 nations. They are completely isolated from the outer world. Their mobile phones have been handed in, and nearly all channels of communication have been blocked to ensure that no information is leaked from the conclave to the outside world. The colour of smoke is the only mode of communication between the cardinals and the rest of the world.

-To reach to a consensus, the conclave cardinals need to vote and register a two-thirds majority. The pointiff will be elected after one of the contenders secures more than 89 votes. The conclave will resume on Thursday morning.