A new pope could be appointed in a few hours, after more than 100 Catholic cardinals gathered inside the Vatican on Wednesday to elect the next pontiff, after the death of Pope Francis in April.
The conclave includes 133 cardinals which are currently located inside the Sistine Chapel, which Michelangelo painted at the beginning of the 16th century. Before the start of the vote, the cardinals made several prayers and sang “Veni, creator spiritus”, a anthem that is over 1,100 years old.
While the 267th Pope could be appointed on Wednesday, the process could also extend in the back half of the week; If a successor was not chosen after three days, the cardinals will take a 24 -hour break. This did not happen because it took five days to elect Pope Pius XI in 1922; Pope Francis was elected after two days of voting in 2013.
The faithful who gathered in the city of the Vatican will be on the lookout for white smoke to emerge from the chimney above the Sistine Chapel, meaning that the next bishop of Rome was elected.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin presides over the conclave. According to the New York Times, 70 years old, asked God to “give your servants the spirit of intelligence, truth, peace, that they can strive to know your will and serve you with total dedication” during the voting process.
Paroline, according to the betting markets, is the favorite to replace Francis, 88 years old when he died last month. Luis Antonio Tagle, a Philippin prelate, would also have a good chance of becoming the next pope; He would be the first Philippin Pope in the history of the Church.
You can watch a live flow from the Associated Press in the video integrated above. Alternatively, CBS News, Fox News, NBC News and ABC News also organize live coverage with comments.
In other news related to the Pope, President Trump published a photo generated by artificial intelligence of himself carrying papal outfits last week – a decision that was criticized by Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York. Dolan said the photo was “not good” and that he hoped that the president had nothing to do with that. The president refused the criticism of the image this week, saying however: “The Catholics loved it” and that his wife Melania Trump found him “cute”.
