The conclave to elect a new pope has commenced, but the first voting round has ended without a decision, as indicated by the emergence of black smoke from the Sistine Chapel’s chimney around 9pm local time. Tens of thousands of spectators gathered in St Peter’s Square awaited the results, which took over two hours to announce. The 133 cardinals will reconvene for further voting sessions tomorrow in the closed-door setting of the Sistine Chapel.
