What Comes Next? The Selection of a New Pope

With the conclusion of the nine days of mourning on May 4, 2025, the church enters the final preparatory phase for choosing its 267th pope. On May 7, the College of Cardinals will gather in Vatican City to begin the conclave.

Following tradition, the day will open with the Mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff at 10:00 a.m. Rome time (4:00 a.m. EDT), celebrated in St. Peter’s Basilica. The faithful are invited to watch the Mass live on the Vatican News YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/vatican.

In the afternoon, the cardinals will process into the Sistine Chapel, chanting the Veni Creator Spiritus to invoke the Holy Spirit's guidance. There, they will take solemn oaths of secrecy and begin voting according to procedures laid out in church law.

Watching for Smoke: As voting progresses, the cardinals burn their ballots after each round, adding special chemicals to produce either black or white smoke from the chapel’s chimney.

     • Black smoke signals that no pope has been elected.

     • White smoke announces the election of a new pope.

For those watching from afar, the Vatican will livestream the smoke via Vatican Media Live on YouTube.

On May 7, expect the first smoke signal just after 7:00 p.m. Rome time (1:00 p.m. EDT). On subsequent days, smoke may be seen around 10:30 a.m., noon, 5:30 p.m., and just after 7:00 p.m. (Rome time). However, these times may vary based on the pace of voting and prayerful deliberations. Notably, when two votes occur in one session without a result, the ballots are burned together, meaning only two smoke signals are issued each day.

The Moment of Announcement: When a new pope has been elected and accepts the call, the senior cardinal deacon will step onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and proclaim to the world, "Habemus Papam!" ("We have a pope!"). The new Holy Father will then appear to impart his first apostolic blessing to those gathered in St. Peter’s Square and to all watching worldwide.

What can we do during this time?
As we await the selection of the next pope, we invite all the faithful to join in prayer:

• Offer a Rosary or Chaplet of Divine Mercy for the church
• Pray for the College of Cardinals, that they may be guided by the Holy Spirit in their decision.
• Pray for the church, that this time of transition strengthens our unity in Christ.
• Pray for the new pope, that he may lead with wisdom, humility and faith.

Let us entrust this process to God’s will, asking for his grace and guidance in choosing the next shepherd of his church.

For official updates and more details, visit:
Vatican News
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB