Cardinals Enter Conclave: Black Smoke at the End of the Day

The morning of Wednesday, May 7, was marked by the Mass celebrated by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re in St. Peter's Basilica. During this votive Mass, Pro Eligendo Romano Pontifice, the Cardinal Dean of the Sacred College invited the electors of the next pope to meditate on the gravity of their mission.

One curiosity, among others, of this 2025 conclave: neither the dean nor the vice-dean, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, entered the Sistine Chapel, both having reached the age of 80. Pope Francis, reluctant to choose then Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin as dean, had resigned himself, a few months before his death, to reappointing the 91-year-old porporato to this position.

The afternoon of May 7th was marked by the formal entry into the conclave. The cardinal electors, a record 133 in number, dressed in their red choir robes—symbolizing their readiness for martyrdom—gathered in the Royal Hall of the Apostolic Palace. From there, they began a long, solemn procession to the Sistine Chapel, the emblematic site where the election began. 

This march, punctuated by the singing of the Litany of the Saints, was a moment of rare intensity captured by cameras around the world. The cardinals advanced two by two, followed by a small procession including two archbishops not wearing the purple: Archbishop Diego Ravelli, Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations, and Archbishop Ilson de Jesus Montanari, Secretary of the Sacred College, as well as other clergy facilitating the smooth running of the ritual.

Once they arrived in the Sistine Chapel, the cardinals took a solemn oath. Each elector, approaching the book of the Gospels placed in the center of the chapel, individually recited the formula: Ego, N., Cardinalis Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae, iuro et promitto… (“I, N., Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, swear and promise…”) to observe secrecy and be faithful if elected.

This ritual takes place beneath Michelangelo's frescoes, notably the Last Judgment, which remind the cardinals of the great responsibility they now bear, for which they will be held accountable before God.

After the oath, Archbishop Ravelli, facing the cameras, pronounced the famous phrase Extra Omnes ("All Out"), ordering all those not participating in the conclave to leave the Sistine Chapel. Only the cardinal electors remained, and for a few more minutes, the master of liturgical celebrations and Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa—a non-elector—appointed to deliver a final exhortation.

Once the meditation was completed, the two prelates left the chapel, and the door was sealed. At that precise moment, the conclave officially began. According to details provided by the Vatican, we know that Cardinal Re spoke to ask if the electors were ready to proceed immediately with the vote or if they needed further clarification on the procedure.

Then the first two rounds of voting took place and – as is always the case in the first day of the election – black smoke rose from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel in the late afternoon, before a secure vehicle escorted the cardinals – still deprived of cell phones – under heavy escort to the Casa Santa Marta where a simple supper was served to them.