Black smoke in the Vatican means no new Pope

The papal conclave to choose the next Pope began on May 7, with the USA Today Stream Reporting.
Cardinal voters will be secret, with white smoke means choosing a new Pope.
After the death of Pope Francis, Cardinal Joseph Tobin, former Archbishop of Indianapolis, is a candidate on the first American Pope.

A cardinal with connections to Indiana has an attempt to become the next Pope of the Vatican as a ranking members of the Catholic Church meeting in Rome this week to choose a successor to Pope Francis who died on April 21.

In this case, Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, 72, who previously acted as Archbishop of Indianapolis, would be the first person to be born as a Pope in the United States.

We know the following about the search and how you can see.

What does conglave mean?

The term conclave refers to a private meeting or a secret assembly, Especially a meeting of Roman Catholic cardinalsaccording to Merriam-webster.com.

Papal Conclave 2025 Live -Stream reporting: Who is the new Pope?

US TODAY will stream the coverage of the conclave on the YouTube channel, which is available here or on the following one -bed. The live stream of the first day is scheduled to run on Wednesday, May 7th, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Who is Cardinal Joseph Tobin?

Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, 72, a progressive one, is one of the 10 Americans who have a voice in the conclave.

When he served as Archbishop of Indianapolis, where he was appointed by Pope Benedict XVia on October 18, 2012, Tobin was raised to a cardinal by Pope Francis on October 9, 2016. Pope Francis appointed him on January 6, 2017 in Newark in Newark in New Jersey.

Tobin was the first priest born in Detroit to become a Catholic cardinal. He pursues the teachings of Pope Francis throughout his service at the church and supported and documented immigrants and LGBTQ -Catholics.

When did the 2025 papal conclave began? When did the vote for a new Pope began?

The papal conclave begins on Wednesday, May 7th. There is no timeline that concludes it. A new Pope could be selected in a few hours, days, weeks or even years. The coordination takes place in secret, the results that are signaled by clouds of smoke – black – which means that the coordination continues, and white smoke means that a new pope has been selected.

2025 New Papal Officialities: Who are the current favorites to be the next Pope in the Vatican?

Here are the chances for the next Pope, according to BetmGM:

Pietro Parolin (ITA)	+250
Luis Antonio Tagle (Phi)	+325
Matteo Maria Zuppi (ITA)	+500
Peter Turkson (GHA)	+550
Robert Sarah (Gin)	+700
Pierbattista Pizzaballa (ITA)	+900
Peter Erdo (Hun)	+1000
Raymond Leo Burke (USA)	+2500
Reinhard Marx (GER)	+2500
Kevin Farrell (USA)	+2500
Fridolin Ambongo Besungu (cod)	+2500

How is a new Pope elected? How the papal conclave works

2025 Papal Conclave Voting: Voting for a new Pope

The first ballot was occupied on Wednesday evening (Vatican period) on May 7, according to Vatican News. The vote takes place on the following days, twice in the morning and twice in the evening four times a day.

2025 papal implant plan

According to the Vatican, we have known about the concave schedule so far.

1:45 a.m. ET (7:45 a.m. Vatican time): The cardinals go to the Apostolic Palace (the official residence of the Pope) from Santa Marta (where the cardinals stay during the conclave).
2:15 a.m. ET (8:15 a.m. Vatican Time): The day begins with the fair in the Pauline chapel.
3:15 a.m. ET (9:15 a.m. Vatican Time): In the middle of the prayer in the Sistine chapel.
4:30 a.m. ET- 6:30 a.m. ET (10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Vatican Time): Two voices are allowed in the morning. The expected time for smoke, if a Pope was to be chosen, would be in place at around 10:30 a.m. and after noon.
6:30 a.m. ET (12:30 p.m. Vatican Time): Cardinals return to Santa Marta for lunch.
9:45 a.m. ET (3.45 p.m. Vatican Time): The cardinals return to the apostolic palace.
10:30 a.m. ET (4:30 p.m. Vatican Time): The vote is resumed in the Sistine chapel
11:30 a.m. ET until 1:00 p.m. (5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Vaticzeit): If white smoke appears, after the local time from 5:30 p.m. Otherwise we can expect the day to be completed with white or black smoke at around 7:00 p.m. local time.
1:30 p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. Vatican Time): The vote is completed and voters return to Santa Marta.

John Tufts covers trend news for Indystar and Midwest Connect. Send him a news tip at jtufts@gannett.com. Find him on Bluesky at Johnwritesstuff.