Image by CatholicVote
VATICAN CITY // A record-breaking crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square on the first evening of the papal conclave, with more than 45,000 faithful present to witness the first fumata nera, or black smoke, indicating that no pope has yet been elected. The figure was confirmed by Italian police responsible for general security in the area.
Marco Mancini, a journalist with the EWTN-owned Italian news agency ACI Stampa and author of several books on the College of Cardinals, remarked: “This multitude is unusual for the first evening, in which it is predictable that the smoke will be black.”
Mancini also told CatholicVote that an unusually big crowd had gathered not only in the square but also in the surrounding streets to watch the live transmission of the moment when Cardinal Pietro Parolin declared “extra omnes” (“everyone out!”), marking the formal start of the conclave as the doors of the Sistine Chapel closed. The crowd responded with applause.
An expert on papal conclaves, Mancini had predicted the smoke would not appear before 8:30 p.m.
“The first fumata of the conclave of 2013 was at 7:41 p.m. If you add 18 additional, notably less experienced cardinals attending this conclave, you can do the math,” he told CatholicVote. The black smoke indeed came out exactly at 9:00 p.m. local time.
Mancini added that the crowd is likely to grow in the coming days “since the possibility of a white smoke becomes more probable.”
