White smoke poured from a chimney above the Sistine Chapel on Thursday, signaling that the 133 cardinals sequestered inside for two days had elected a new pope to lead the world’s 1.4 billion Roman Catholics.
The identity of the new pontiff is not yet known but is expected to be announced shortly.
A large crowd in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City prepared for the new pope to emerge on a balcony overlooking the square.
The conclave, the first in 12 years, came at an uncertain time for the church after Pope Francis’ death in April.
The new pope will confront difficult decisions about the church’s future direction, chiefly whether to continue Francis’ agenda of greater inclusion and openness to change, or forge a different path.
The cardinals reached their decision after being in conclave for a little more than 24 hours, continuing with recent papal elections that lasted two to three days.
The group of 133 cardinals, the most ever to gather in a conclave, included many who were appointed by Francis and some who did not know one another.
That had made reaching a quick consensus a serious challenge, given the broad group of contenders and the splits among them about the future of the church.
Since 1900, this is the fifth pope to have been elected in two days.
(NYT/vitalnewsngr.com)
