Of all the ceremonies associated with the choice of a new Pope, the most familiar to the general public is the smoke that emanates from a pipe chimney on the Sistine Chapel after each voting round.
The black smoke, smoked Nera in Italian, indicates a non -conclusive vote, while the white smoke, Fumata Bianca, will mean that a new Pope has been chosen. Together with the white smoke, the bells of the Basilica of San Pedro Sonar will proclaim the event to the world.
Firefighters install a temporary fireplace on the roof of the Sistine Chapel on May 2, 2025 in the city of Vatican, used to communicate the choice of a new Pope.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
The ceremonial smoke is not created by the burning of the ballots. The voting slippers are burned in a stove that dates back to the 1922 conclave and is established for the occasion in the Sistine Chapel.
The smoke that comes out of the chimney of the stove pipe is created with chemical granules that burn in another stove that is connected to the chimney, which is temporarily erected on the Sistine Chapel only for that purpose.
Assuming that the Cardinal Elected accepts the office, the identity of the new Pope is typically revealed within an hour of the final ballot, after choosing the name by which he will be known as Pope.
The new Pope emerges to the balcony to appear to the world and deliver his first blessing to the crowd gathered under the Plaza de San Pedro.
-ABC News’ Christopher Watson
