The famous smoke from a chimney to indicate whether cardinals locked away in the Sistine Chapel have elected a pope is not created just by burning used ballots, the Vatican said Tuesday. “We use smoke flares,” Paolo Sagretti, who was in charge of setting up the chapel for the election conclave, told AFP. The ancient Read more
The 115 cardinals participating in the conclave will know the identity of the new pope before the rest of the world, but their advance knowledge is likely to last for well over an hour, and even more in the unlikely event that the candidate they choose is not in the Sistine Chapel with them. The Read more
In a blog post in CorriereDellaSera, John L Allen Jr proposes three possible ways for a papal candidate to emerge, getting the necessary 77 votes. Allen’s models are: Let’s get it over with The anti-establishment vote, or The ‘third world’ hypothesis Let’s get it over with This model brings together those wanting to have Read more