PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: White smoke has issued from the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, signaling that the College of Cardinals has chosen a new pontiff to succeed the late Pope Francis.
👥 Who’s Involved: The electing cardinals, the senior cardinal, and the yet-to-be-named new pontiff.
📍Where & When: Vatican City, St. Peter’s Square and the Sistine Chapel, May 8.
⚠️ Impact: The election of a new pope marks a pivotal moment for the Catholic Church, with global attention on the incoming pontiff’s identity and vision, to be revealed shortly.
IN FULL:
The chimney above the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican has emitted “white smoke,” meaning the conclave of cardinals has selected a new pope following the death of Pope Francis. Notably, the pontiff and leader of the Catholic Church was selected on what is believed to be just the fourth ballot cast by the over 130 cardinals gathered in Rome. The speed at which the new pope was chosen likely signals that the successor of Saint Peter is among the more prominent names believed to be in contention at the start of the conclave earlier this week.
While the Catholic faithful celebrate the selection of a new leader for the Church, the pope’s identity is not yet known. The new pontiff will appear and address the crowd gathered at the Vatican in the next hour.
The National Pulse previously reported that a number of cardinals were in contention for the papacy, including Hungarian Cardinal Peter Erdo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, Cardinal Mario Grech from Malta, the Vatican’s Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa of Jerusalem, Cardinal Luis Tagle of the Philippines, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi from Italy, Sweden’s Cardinal Anders Arborelius of Stockholm, and Cardinal Robert Sarah of Guinea.
NOW – White smoke. A new Pope has been chosen. pic.twitter.com/s6U3tQTiTz
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) May 8, 2025
This story is developing…