What black and white smoke means After the cardinals' votes are counted, the paper ballots are burned in a stove in the Sistine Chapel. Black smoke emerging from the chimney means the world's 1.4 ...

What black and white smoke means. After the cardinals' votes are counted, the paper ballots are burned in a stove in the Sistine Chapel. Black smoke emerging from the chimney means the world's 1.4 ...

And once the election process for a new pope begins, gatherers will turn upward each day, waiting for black or white smoke to fill the sky. Francis died on Easter Monday , April 21. He was 88 ...

Black and white smoke is used to represent the cardinals' decisions each day, as they are sequestered and cannot share this news directly. If one candidate doesn't receive the necessary two-thirds ...

Black and white smoke is used to represent the cardinals' decisions each day, as they are sequestered and cannot share this news directly.

And once the election process for a new pope begins, gatherers will turn upward each day, waiting for black or white smoke to fill the sky. Francis died on Easter Monday, April 21.

It wasn't clear whether grey smoke was closer to black or white, for example. By the 1970s, the straw method had been abandoned in favor of more controllable chemical mixtures.

And once the election process for a new pope begins, gatherers will turn upward each day, waiting for black or white smoke to fill the sky. Francis died on Easter Monday, April 21.

Black and white smoke: Here's what they signal during the election of a new pope In the past, a papal conclave has been held 15-20 days after a vacancy. Greta Cross. USA TODAY.