- The conclave to pick a new pope is a secretive process, but the public gets updated on the outcome of every vote when either black or white smoke fills the sky above the Vatican
- Black smoke means the cardinals did not come to a two-thirds consensus, while white smoke means a new pope has been elected
- Some chemical additives have been added to the burnt ballots to avoid any possible confusion over the smoke’s color
After every vote during the conclave to pick Pope Francis’s successor, either black or white smoke will fill the sky above the Vatican.
Although the voting takes place behind closed doors and is notoriously secretive, this longstanding tradition is a way to inform the public of the outcome of the vote. Black smoke (fumata nera) means the voting cardinals did not come to a two-thirds consensus. White smoke (fumata bianca), on the other hand, means a new pope has been elected.
The smoke tradition is not nearly as old as the papacy itself or even the Sistine Chapel, where the voting takes place. The special chimney that gets temporarily installed every conclave dates back to the 1700s, according to History.com — and as the BBC points out, since the Sistine Chapel is a work of art itself, installation can be a delicate process.
“This is such a precise process because if one thing goes wrong, it’s not just a technical failure – it becomes an international incident,” structural engineer Kevin Farlam told the outlet.
Burning ballots after they’ve been counted, which truly ensures their secrecy, dates back to the 1400s, according to History.com, although historian Frederic J. Baumgartner told the outlet that the tradition likely began way earlier.
The Irish News reported that the use of white smoke only came about during the 1914 conclave, which ended up choosing Pope Benedict XV. The use of black smoke, however, can be traced to the 1800s.
However, as conclaves came and went, it became difficult to control the color of the smoke.
In 2005, after previous conclaves ended up releasing gray-looking smoke and confusing onlookers, the Vatican adopted a new strategy. The smoke still comes from the burning of ballots, but it is now also combined with chemical additives from another stove.
That same year, which resulted in the election of Pope Benedict XVI, the Vatican also began ringing bells as confirmation that a new pope has been chosen.
The BBC reported that black smoke is created by a mixture of potassium perchlorate, anthracene and sulphur, while white smoke is created with potassium chlorate, lactose and rosin.
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