What is the science behind the smoke signals on the Sistine Chapel to announce if a new pope has been elected?

The inauguration Mass on May 18 will be the formal installation ceremony where Pope Leo XIV will receive the Fisherman’s Ring and the pallium as symbols of his papal office. The “taking possession” ...

The trip, planned over a year ago, was meant to be a visit to the holiest place of their Catholic faith. Vaskov described the ...

Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, a 69-year-old Chicago-born missionary, was elected the 267th pope of the Roman Catholic ...

Peace be with you,' Pope Leo XIV said in greeting the thousands of people who packed St. Peter's Square, a plaza brimming ...

Becoming pope was a big deal for a cardinal and his family. Leading candidates known as papabili (pope-ables) began ...

When that happens, white smoke rises from the Sistine Chapel's chimney. If the two-thirds majority is not reached, black smoke is emitted instead, signaling that the conclave will resume with further ...

Thousands of people have gathered in Vatican Square to witness the first appearance of the newly elected pope. White smoke was released from the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel on Thursday evening, ...

As a plume of white smoke billowed from the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, Rev. Stephen Thorne, priest of the ...

But white smoke was seen shortly before the noon bells rung, prompting confusion among the crowds. There was a similar incident during the 1958 conclave, when white smoke initially emerged but then ...

White smoke from the Sistine Chapel on Thursday signaled that the cardinals have selected the next leader of the Catholic ...

The conclave to elect the 267th pope ended after the second day of voting on Thursday, marking one of the shortest conclaves ...