If a pope hasn't been chosen, the ballots will be burned along with a chemical that makes the smoke black. If the smoke is white, however, the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics have a new head ...

If the smoke is black, the cardinals have failed to reach a decision. White smoke signifies a new pope has been chosen. The small group of cardinals who form the conclave which selects the next ...

and then burned with a chemical to send either black smoke, meaning a stalemate, or white, signifying "habemus papam" − "we ...

Soon after the chimney of the Sistine Chapel sent up a puff of white smoke signifying that the cardinals had selected a successor to Pope Benedict XVI, Francis addressed thousands of faithful from ...

The conclave, shrouded in centuries-old tradition and secrecy, stands as one of the most captivating rituals in the Catholic ...