Cardinals return to Sistine Chapel to vote on a new pope on the second day
發佈日期: 2025-05-08 19:45
TVB News
At the Vatican, cardinals returned to the Sistine Chapel on Thursday, beginning the second day of voting for a new Pope.That's after the first conclave ballot ended without a decision.
Up to four rounds of voting will take place every day until a new pope is elected.
Shortly after 9 p.m. local time on Wednesday, black smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel -- signaling that the 133 cardinal electors failed to reach the two-thirds majority needed to elect a new Pope.
On the first day of the Vatican conclave, only a single round of voting took place.
From the second day onward, four ballots are held each day -- two in the morning and two in the afternoon until a new pontiff is chosen.
If no decision is reached after three full days, proceedings will pause for a day of prayer and informal discussion.
If the deadlock persists after seven additional rounds, the cardinals will receive what the Vatican calls a "spiritual exhortation."
Once the election is decided, white smoke emerges from the chimney.
Historically, it usually took three to eight rounds of voting.
The 133 cardinal electors entered the Sistine Chapel beginning with the cardinal deacons, followed by the priests, and finally the bishops.
After chanting the traditional hymn, each elector took an oath of fidelity to the papal election.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the most senior among them by date of elevation, was the first to swear the oath.
Also there was Cardinal Stephen Chow, Bishop of Hong Kong, speaking in Latin.
"I, Cardinal Stephen Chow, promise, pledge and swear. So help me God and these Holy Gospels that I touch with my hand."
The final oath was taken by the youngest cardinal elector, Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad from Kerala, India.
All non-participants had to leave the Sistine Chapel as the voting process commenced.
The Vatican earlier released footage, showing the "Stanza delle Lacrime" or the "Room of Tears," where the new Pope goes right after being elected, has been prepared -- complete with papal vestments in various sizes.
The Pope-elect will change into the white cassock here for the first time.
