American Cardinal Robert Prevost Elected as New Pope Leo XIV. Churchbells are Ringing. There was White Smoke.

The second black smoke of the current conclave, following the second and third ballots, was greeted in St. Peter’s Square, with people ready to return later to attend the possible event of the papal election.  On this Thursday morning, the square was filled with around 10,000 people, including faithful and onlookers, a figure significantly lower than the more than 30,000 who also waited in vain last night for the white smoke to emerge from the Sistine Chapel chimney. The White Smoke happened before noon today, as pictured below. The new Pope made his speech just after noon.

A group of Spaniards from Llanes, Asturias, who were on a cruise, disembarked this morning at the port of Civitavecchia and headed directly to the Vatican.  Their arrival coincided precisely with the black smoke, which could be seen in the background while they took a group photo.  Among them was Juan Manuel, who has not been surprised by the second cloud of black smoke: “It can’t be so soon” (the election of the Pope), while Ana María is convinced that the next one “will not be Spanish” and that it is enough for him to follow the humanist and conciliatory “path” of Francis.

A woman with her dog dressed as a Pope is photographed by the press this Thursday in St. Peter’s Square.

Also in the square were a Salvadoran couple, Nataly and Fernando, whose trip to Italy had been planned for a month. This trip coincided with the conclave, so they made their way to St. Peter’s Square, even though the smoke was black.  “We plan to return for the afternoon vote because it’s a special event” she said, while the man confirmed his intention: “We have to take advantage; maybe in the afternoon we can witness this luxury. I hope so,” he commented, referring to the hypothetical election of the pontiff.  Nataly says she enjoyed it, even though she didn’t see the new pope: “You can feel the excitement of everyone waiting to see what’s happening, and the atmosphere is super nice.” 

There are those, however, who are not so sure they will be able to return, such as three Spanish women who are currently attending a teacher training course on cultural topics, as they have the morning off but must attend class in the afternoon.  Monica, from Santander, is convinced that the new pope will be announced this Thursday afternoon and tells reporters that being present at St. Peter’s is of interest to her as a historical event, not so much as a religious one.