Spanish
By Roció de León
Vatican City.- The expected start of the conclave to elect the new pontiff ended without results this Wednesday. The black smoke in the chimney of the Sistine Chapel at 9:00 at night, is the unequivocal sign that no cardinal reached the two-thirds necessary to be elected Pope in the first vote.
The event gathered more than 45,000 faithful in St. Peter's Square, who waited with devotion under the dim night lighting, among chants, prayers and anticipation.
“We are here to pray, to ask the Holy Spirit to guide this very important moment for the Church,” expressed Deacon Nicholas Nkoronko, who arrived from Tanzania. “Beyond his origin, what we need is a holy Pope, a true shepherd.”
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The black smoke marks the beginning of a series of votes that could extend for several days, as happened in previous conclaves. The process will continue this Thursday with new rounds of voting, while the Catholic world remains attentive to the next visible sign: the expected white smoke that will announce that there is already a successor to Saint Peter.
