(NewsNation) — Cardinals returned to the Sistine Chapel for the second day of voting to select the next pope Thursday, and black smoke marked a pair of failed attempts to reach a decision around 12 p.m. local time.
Up to four votes are expected Thursday as the conclave continues to replace Pope Francis.
The 133 cardinals eligible to pick the next pope were also unable to agree Wednesday.
When someone receives a two-thirds majority of the cardinals’ votes, they will become the 267th pope, and white smoke will fill the air above the Vatican.
Thousands have flocked to Vatican City to witness the decision in real-time. One traveler told NewsNation: “It feels like I’m living in an open history book.”
For much of the past century, a conclave has required between three and 14 ballots to find a pope. John Paul I — the pope who reigned for 33 days in 1978 — was elected on the fourth ballot. His successor, John Paul II, needed eight. Francis was elected on the fifth in 2013.
To this day, much mystery surrounds the conclave, a process that consists of secret votes, political intrigue and, of course, faith. Cardinals take an oath of secrecy, and the penalty for violating it is excommunication.
“Ironically, we know a great deal more about what happened in conclaves 500 years ago because all of those letters are sitting around in state archives in Paris, Vienna, Madrid and so on,” Miles Pattenden, University of Oxford, told NewsNation.
This year’s conclave is the largest and most diverse in the history of the Catholic Church, with a vast majority of participating cardinals appointed by Francis himself.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
