When a candidate is chosen, the votes are burnt in chemicals that produce the iconic white smoke, signalling to the world that a new pope has been elected. He then chooses his papal name and heads ...

If a pope hasn't been chosen, the ballots will be burned along with a chemical that makes the smoke black. If the smoke is white, however, the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics have a new head ...

Soon after the chimney of the Sistine Chapel sent up a puff of white smoke signifying that the cardinals had selected a successor to Pope Benedict XVI, Francis addressed thousands of faithful from ...

The smoke is black if no pope has been elected. The smoke is white if a pope has been elected. For example, the smoke was black today after the first round of votes, which means no consensus has ...

Here’s some background information about the Vatican’s timetable and process for choosing a new pope. Burial & Mourning upon ...

At the end of each voting session, they will burn the ballots and send a signal to the world by the color of the smoke: BLACK FOR NO POPE AND WHITE FOR POPE. Pealing bells from St. Peter’s will ...