The Vatican’s cardinals gather in conclave today to begin electing the successor to the late Pope Francis—which means the ...

This week, 133 cardinals have gathered in the Vatican to elect a new leader of the Catholic church. During their ...

Here's how the conclave creates black and white smoke and why the Catholic Church began using them to signal whether a new pope has been elected.

For black smoke, the Vatican uses a mixture of potassium perchlorate, anthracene, and sulphur. The white smoke used to signal that a Pope has been chosen is created from potassium chlorate ...

In the papal conclave to elect a new pope, here's a look at what the color of smoke (black or white) means after each vote.

Black smoke is produced by burning ballots with chemicals like potassium perchlorate, anthracene, and sulfur. White smoke is created by burning ballots with a mixture of potassium chlorate ...

Since 1914, white smoke has indicated the election of a new pope. A stereotypical association of the colour of the smoke – ...

Ballots are burned in the process, but the smoke seen by the world is created using another stove, the Vatican Information ...