Scenes from the Vatican on May 8, 2025 (Credit: Vatican News)
The Catholic Church got a new pope, Pope Leo XIV – who was elected by the cardinals of the church, on Thursday, May 8, 2025.
The news of a new Pope, which was announced by the emergence of white smoke from the chimney over the Sistine Chapel on Thursday, came as a surprise, as many were expecting a longer conclave.
More surprising was the announcement of United States-born Cardinal Robert Prevost as the new Pope because he was not widely regarded as a favourite to succeed the late Pope Francis.
Here is a sequence of events on the 2nd day of the Conclave, during which Pope Leo XIV was elected.
Black smoke in the morning:
Around 10:00 am GMT, black smoke emerged from the chimney over the Sistine Chapel, as expected by many, because it was only the 2nd ballot in what many experts touted as a tight papal race.
The first black smoke was on the 1st day of the conclave, Wednesday, May 7, 2025.
The two occasions of black smoke from the chimney signalled that none of the 133 cardinals had the two-thirds majority needed to be elected Pope.
Emergence of the white smoke:
About six hours after the emergence of the black on Day 2, white smoke appeared, to the pleasant surprise of the tens of thousands of people who had gathered at St Peter’s Square at the Vatican.
As the white smoke, which signals that there is a new Pope, emerged, there were dramatic scenes at the square, with many of the people waving their national flags.
The announcement and unveiling of the new Pope:
After the emergence, the world came to a standstill, waiting to see who the cardinals had chosen to be the leader of the Catholic Church.
After over an hour, the Dean of the College of Cardinals emerged from a balcony at St Peter’s Basilica to announce the ‘Habemus Papam,’ meaning ‘We have a New Pope’.
“I announce to you a great joy; we have a Pope: The Most Eminent and Most Reverend Lord, Lord Robert Francis Cardinal of the Holy Roman Catholic Church, Prevost, who has taken the name Leo XIV,” he said in Latin.
Minutes after the announcement, Pope Leo XIV emerged at the balcony, with a broad smile, to greet the faithful for the first time as the 267th Pope.
After his first remarks as Pope, Leo XIV gave his “Urbi et Orbi” blessing.
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