Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
VATICAN FIREFIGHTERS HAVE installed a chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel as the 7 May conclave to elect a new pope grows nearer.
The chapel’s chimney is an important fixture in the conclave. After every two rounds of voting, ballots are burned in a special furnace to indicate to the outside world how its papal election is going.
If a pope has been elected, ballots are mixed with potassium chlorate, lactose and chloroform resin as they burn to produce white smoke from the chimney, telling onlookers that the new pontiff has been chosen.
However, if voting concludes with no election – which requires two-thirds of votes from eligible cardinals – the ballots are mixed with cartridges containing potassium perchlorate, anthracene (a component of coal tar) and sulphur to produce black smoke that will steam from the chapel’s chimney.
The election of Pope Francis in 2013 came after the fifth ballot and two days. His predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, was also elected after two days.
Many people will crowd outside the chapel, waiting for the white smoke to appear.
The Journal’s Diarmuid Pepper will be in Rome throughout the conclave next week – you can follow him on X here
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say