As thousands gather in St. Peter’s Square, all eyes are on the Sistine Chapel for the second round of voting to elect the next pope. If the cardinals have reached a decision, white smoke will soon rise from the chimney, signaling the election of a new leader for the Catholic Church.
The vote is expected around 10:30 a.m. local time (4:30 a.m. ET).
The weather is a curious mix, with warm sunshine occasionally hidden behind thick gray clouds, which intermittently drizzle on the cobblestones below. In nearby cafes, firefighters, police officers, and civil guards have taken a break to grab a quick coffee and indulge in cream-filled maritozzi buns.
“It’s been very, very busy,” says one barista, clearing away plates at the counter, too rushed to share their name. “It looks like today will be the same.”
The cardinals are voting through a meticulous and highly supervised process. The rectangular ballot cards, designed by the late Pope Paul VI in 1978, allow each cardinal to write the name of their chosen candidate. The ballots are folded twice, and each cardinal is instructed to only write the name of a single candidate.
With all eyes on the chimney, the world waits for the crucial signal: the smoke that will mark the dawn of a new papacy.
