Wednesday’s only vote is scheduled to take place in the evening Vatican Time
Newsroom (06/05/2025 20:00, Gaudium Press) The Holy See has announced the timetable for the smoke from the chimney that will indicate the results of the conclave votes, which will begin on Wednesday, May 7. The only vote of the first day is scheduled to take place in the evening .
There is no consensus among the 133 Cardinal electors, that is, if none of the candidates reaches the two-thirds of the votes needed to be elected (89 votes), the traditional smoke that will emerge from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel will be black. White smoke will indicate that a new Pope has been chosen. The first vote is unlikely to elect a successor to Pope Francis.
The Schedule for the first day is as follows:
- 4 a.m. EST (10 a.m. Vatican time): Cardinals will gather for Mass “Pro Eligendo Romano Pontefice” (Holy Mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff) in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.
- 10:30 a.m. EST (4:30 p.m. Vatican time): The 133 cardinal electors will assemble in Pauline Chapel in the Apostolic Palace to pray the Litany of the Saints and then proceed to the Sistine Chapel.
- The cardinals then swear an oath to fulfill the Munus Petrinum (translated from Latin as the “office” or “mission” of Peter) if they are elected pope.
- The Master of Pontifical Liturgical Ceremonies then proclaims “extra omnes” (everyone out), ordering everyone not involved in the conclave to leave the Sistine Chapel.
- Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, Preacher Emeritus of the Papal Household, will deliver the second meditation to the cardinal electors, in the presence of the Master of Liturgical Ceremonies.
- Afterwards, Cardinal Cantalamessa and the Master of Liturgical Ceremonies will leave the chapel and voting begins.
- The first ballot will be cast Wednesday evening (Vatican time), May 7, according to Vatican News. Voting will then happen four times daily over the following days, twice in the morning and twice in the evening.
From Thursday May 8 onwards the cardinal electors will participate in up to four votes, but only in two of them will there be smoke from the chimney.
The last conclaves were concluded on the second day
If after the third day of Conclave a new Pontiff is not elected, a 24-hour pause for prayer will be held. In the last two Conclaves, that of Benedict XVI and that of Francis, the definition of the Pope took place on the second day. None of the last ten elections lasted more than five days.
- Raju Hasmukh
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