'No pope!' Cardinals sent black smoke signal from Sistine Chapel to show first day of conclave has ended without a new pontiff

Cardinals enter the Sistine Chapel to begin the conclave to elect a successor to Pope Benedict 

Black smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel tonight to signal that the first day of the conclave to elect a new pope has ended without a decision.Earlier today 115 cardinals were locked behind the heavy wooden door to start discussions for the successor to Benedict XVI following his shock resignation. But as darkness fell, the dark smoke plumed into the sky over the Vatican in a sign that talks had ended without a decision. 


Benedict's resignation has thrown the church into turmoil and exposed deep divisions among cardinals grappling with whether to pick a manager who can clean up the Vatican bureaucracy or a pastor who can inspire Catholics at a time of crisis. The 115 red-hatted and red-caped cardinals earlier chanted and prayed for divine guidance as they prepared for a conclave to choose a pontiff who will face one of the most difficult periods in the Church's history.



They gathered in the Pauline Chapel and walked in procession along the frescoed halls of the Vatican's Apostolic Palace into the Sistine, where they could remain closeted for several days of balloting. 'The entire Church, united with us in prayer, asks for the grace of the Holy Spirit at this moment so that we elect a worthy shepherd for the entire flock of Christ,' a cardinal said in Latin as the procession began.


They then chanted what is known as the 'litany of saints', asking more than 150 saints by name for help in making their choice of who should succeed Benedict XVI, who has withdrawn from public life after his surprise abdication last month. Once inside the Sistine, they took their places along the walls of the frescoed chapel and sang a hymn to the Holy Spirit, asking it to 'visit our minds' during the election process. They then read an oath in Latin, promising to abide by all the rules of the conclave, including not to reveal anything that goes on during the conclave.The cardinals may well decide to cast a first ballot as early as Tuesday night after the doors of the chapel, one of the world's greatest art treasures, are closed and the cardinals are sequestered inside to conduct their secret discussions.






If they vote, the first outcome is likely to be inconclusive because there is no front runner to succeed Benedict, who became the first pope in six centuries to step down, saying he was not strong enough at 85 to confront the woes of a Church whose 1.2 billion members look to Rome for leadership. Smoke - white for a new pontiff, black after an inconclusive vote - would emerge from the chimney on the Sistine's roof if a ballot were held. The balloting for the next pontiff will take place under the gaze of the divine presence represented through Michelangelo's fresco of the Last Judgment on the wall behind the altar. The solemn afternoon procession into the Sistine followed a morning Mass in St. Peter's Basilica where Angelo Sodano, an Italian who is dean of the cardinals, called for unity in the Church, which has been riven with intrigue and scandal, and urged everyone to work with the next pope.


'My brothers, let us pray that the Lord will grant us a pontiff who will embrace this noble mission with a generous heart,' Sodano said in his homily, receiving warm applause when he thanked 'the beloved and venerable' Benedict. The former pontiff, who retired on Feb. 28, has excluded himself from public life and was not present on Tuesday. No clear favourite has emerged to take the helm of the Church, with some prelates calling for a strong manager to control the much criticised Vatican bureaucracy, while others want a powerful pastor to combat growing secularism. 


 Italy's Angelo Scola and Brazil's Odilo Scherer are spoken of as possible frontrunners.
The former would return the papacy to Italy after 35 years in the hands of Poland's John Paul II and the German Benedict; Scherer would be the first non-European pope since Syrian-born Gregory III in the 8th century.


On the eve of the vote, cardinals offered wildly different assessments of what they were looking for in the next pontiff and how close they were to a decision. It was evidence that Benedict XVI's surprise resignation has continued to destabilise the church leadership and that his final appeal for unity may go unheeded, at least in the early rounds of voting. Cardinals held their final closed-door debate yesterday over whether the church needs a manager to clean up the Vatican's bureaucratic mess or a pastor to inspire the 1.2billion faithful in times of crisis. The fact that not everyone got a chance to speak was a clear sign that there was still unfinished business on the eve of the conclave. 'This time around, there are many different candidates, so it's normal that it's going to take longer than the last time,' Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz of Chile said. 'There are no groups, no compromises, no alliances, just each one with his conscience voting for the person he thinks is best, which is why I don't think it will be over quickly.' None of that has prevented a storm of chatter over who is ahead.

A pilgrim prays in St Peter's Square as cardinals attend mass before entering the conclave

Source Dailymail