Black smoke was spotted from the Sistine Chapel’s chimney, signaling that the cardinals could not agree on who would be the next pope.

The smoke appeared several hours after 133 cardinals of the Catholic Church gathered together to begin the process of selecting a new pope.

The smoke signaled after the cardinals could not come to a two-thirds decision, which would be 89 votes.

Take a look:

#BREAKING: No pope has been selected by the conclave in first round as black smoke can be seen rising pic.twitter.com/FUgGMz4kED

— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) May 7, 2025

Black smoke.

No pope. Conclave continues Thursday. pic.twitter.com/yn6p1ct9ve

— CSPAN (@cspan) May 7, 2025

Check out what the BBC reported:

After a lengthy wait, black smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel’s chimney this evening, meaning that the cardinals have not been able to choose a new pontiff.

Crowds were gathered in their tens of thousands in St Peter’s Square for the first vote of conclave – the results of which took more than three hours to announce.

Because of the secrecy of the process, experts have pointed out that we might never know what caused the delay, and we definitely won’t until after the conclave concludes.

But the lack of a new pope means that cardinals will return tomorrow to a closed-door Sistine Chapel for more rounds of voting.

Black smoke has emerged from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, indicating that the cardinals have not yet reached a decision on the next pope.

Follow: @AFpost pic.twitter.com/byqSq4meu8

— AF Post (@AFpost) May 7, 2025

Per Newsweek:

Black smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel at 9 p.m. Wednesday, local time, signaling that no pope was elected on the first ballot of the conclave convened to choose the next leader of the Catholic Church.

The smoke appeared roughly four hours after 133 cardinals entered the Sistine Chapel, took their solemn oaths of secrecy, and formally began the centuries-old process of selecting a successor to Pope Francis to lead the Church’s 1.4 billion members worldwide.
Since no candidate received the required two-thirds majority—89 votes—the day concluded without a decision.

There is no set time frame for a conclave, with some stretching several years and others mere hours. While traditionally those wanting to find out the news would have had to look for the smoke by being at the Vatican, moderny conclaves gain worldwide attention, with the view being livestreamed for the 2025 selection.