The conclave is set to begin May 7, but the public only knows its end by iconic white smoke billowing out of the Sistine Chapel’s chimney.
Black smoke means the cardinals have not yet reached the two-thirds majority vote necessary to elect a new pope. The cardinals burn the ballots in a stove, adding chemicals to the fire to color the smoke.
The best place to watch for the smoke is in St. Peter’s Square itself, but the Vatican will also livestream the smoke on its YouTube channel, Vatican Media Live.
For smoke watchers, the best time to view the smoke on May 7, the conclave’s first day, is just after 7 p.m. (1 p.m. EDT). On the following days, look for it around 10:30 a.m. (4:30 a.m. EDT) and noon, and again at 5:30 p.m. and just after 7 p.m., according to Catholic News Service.
However, the times may vary depending on the cardinals’ prayers and discussions.
“On the second day of the conclave and moving forward, there can be four rounds of voting each day, but only two smoke signals,” according to Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Services’ editor-in-chief. “That is because if the first ballot of the morning or of the afternoon session does not result in an election, a second vote begins immediately, and the two ballots are burned together.”
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