St. Peter’s Square was filled with quiet anticipation Tuesday morning as visitors, pilgrims, and faithful gathered under the Vatican’s watchful gaze, awaiting the historic moment when white smoke will rise to signal the election of a new pope.
As the conclave formally began, cardinals in scarlet robes filed solemnly through St. Peter’s Basilica, embarking on a process cloaked in centuries-old tradition and secrecy, determined to elect a spiritual leader at what many are calling a “complex turning point in history.”
Inside the Sistine Chapel, 120 cardinal electors have taken their sacred oaths and assumed their assigned seats behind individual desks each vote they cast shielded from the outside world by electronic jamming devices and tightly secured doors. The term “conclave,” derived from the Latin cum clave (with a key), reflects the gravity and isolation of their task. Two stoves—one for burning ballots and the other to emit smoke stand ready to signal the outcome of each vote: black for inconclusive, white for a new pontiff.
In a homily preceding the conclave, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals, urged the electors to seek divine guidance, emphasizing the enormous weight of their decision: “We are here to invoke the help of the Holy Spirit… so that the pope elected may be he whom the Church and humanity need at this difficult and complex turning point in history.”
The process follows the death of Pope Francis, whose papacy was marked by strong advocacy for the poor and marginalized. Canadian Cardinal Michael Czerny, reflecting on the moment, said the next pope must “keep speaking up for those who are poor and voiceless,” adding that the Church must continue the legacy of leadership rooted in justice and compassion.
Visitors to the square shared their hopes for the future. One American tourist expressed a common sentiment: “I just hope the new pope brings a message of love and unity—not just for Catholics, but for the world.”
