The Papal Conclave Explained: From Black Smoke to Habemus Papam
By Jarod Clark · May 7 2025
Why the Sky Above the Sistine Chapel Was Black Today
This afternoon, the first batch of ballots from the 2025 conclave was burned with a chemical mixture that produced black smoke, telling the tens of thousands gathered in St Peter’s Square that no cardinal has yet secured the two-thirds majority needed to become the 267th pope.(Reuters, New York Post)
How the Conclave Works, Step-by-Step
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Secrecy and the Oath – The 133 cardinal-electors were sealed inside the Sistine Chapel after swearing an oath of secrecy under pain of automatic excommunication.(Reuters, USCCB)
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Silent Balloting – Each day after the opening vote, the cardinals cast four ballots (two in the morning, two in the afternoon) until one man receives at least two-thirds of the votes.(PBS: Public Broadcasting Service)
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The Two Stoves – Ballots are burned in a special stove; additives turn the smoke black when a vote is inconclusive and white when a pope is elected. A second stove feeds clean air so the plume rises high above the chapel roof.(CBS 8, Catholic News Agency)
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White-Smoke Moment – Once a candidate reaches the threshold, ballots are burned with a white-smoke mixture and a bell is rung. Moments later, the senior cardinal-deacon appears on the basilica balcony to proclaim Habemus Papam and announce the new pontiff’s papal name.(Catholic News Agency)
Why Black Smoke Is Normal—And What Comes Next
Conclaves rarely end on the first ballot; the 2005 and 2013 elections both needed multiple rounds over two days. Card-electors will resume voting tomorrow morning, repeating the four-vote cycle until white smoke and the historic Latin announcement signal that the Church has a new shepherd.(Reuters)