Here's how the conclave creates black and white smoke and why the Catholic Church began using them to signal whether a new pope has been elected.

White Smoke, Pope; Black Smoke, Nope: How Conclave Smoke Gets Its Color A chemical mixture is added to the cardinals' ballots to signal conclave vote.

VATICAN CITY - Thick black smoke emerged on May 7 from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, in a sign that cardinals had failed to elect a new head of the Catholic Church in their first conclave ...

Historically, the white smoke was created by burning the ballots together with dry straw. The black smoke was made from the ballots, wet straw, and with the addition of pitch to darken the color.

The Smoke Is Black: No Pope After Cardinals' First Vote : The Two-Way In the Sistine Chapel, cardinals have begun voting. It takes the votes of two-thirds (77 cardinals) to become pope. In between ...

2025 papal conclave continues for a second day at the Vatican, as more black smoke signals no new pope after a third vote.

The 2025 Conclave begins today to elect Pope Francis’s successor. Here’s what time to watch for black or white smoke, how the process works, and where to stream it live.

Black smoke rises from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, on March 13, 2013. CREDIT: Michael Kappeler/picture alliance via Getty Images. picture alliance What makes smoke white?

The election for a new pope continues as black smoke above the Sistine Chapel signals that the cardinals have cast their votes without anyone receiving the required two-thirds majority.

2025 papal conclave continues for a second day at the Vatican, as more black smoke signals no new pope after a third vote.

Black smoke billowed over the Vatican on Wednesday to signal that no candidate received the required two-thirds majority of cardinal electors to become the next pope. The big picture: White smoke ...

The black smoke confirmed the 133 cardinal electors sequestered inside had not reached the required two-thirds majority — at least 89 votes — needed to elect a new pope.