The prediction was built on St. Peter’s Square on Thursday morning, as people began to think seriously that the cardinals would elect a new pope. But when the first tobacco of the day came, just before noon, it was black – indicating that there was no consensus on the Sixina chapel, where the cardinals vote.
Because the last two conclusions to elect Francis and Benedict XVI lasted two days, many of the faithful and tourists grinding around the square, as a light rain turned into intense sunshine, they said they were expecting white smoke on Thursday but not until the night.
So when black tobacco came at noon, most were not so surprised, training their cell phones on the giant screens that frame the square where they could see the tobacco pumped from the chimney.
Judith Duru, 22, a nursing student in Rome from Nigeria, was filming the smoke on the screen because he could not see the real tobacco from where he was standing.
He said he trusted the cardinals to choose a “Pope with a good heart, who can take care of your people, understand your people”. Although it came from a continent with a rapidly growing universal population, he said that he did not care where the new Pope greeted.
“I don’t make politics and religion,” he said. “It doesn’t matter to me” from where it comes from, he added. “A good pope will touch everyone.”
Before the first tobacco sign of the day, JoaquÃn Cáceres, 30, and LucÃa Pérez, 28, Argentina living in Spain, said they had made a bet on Wednesday night after seeing the first black smoke coming out of Chimney Chapel.
“He thinks this morning, in the third vote,” Ms Pérez said.
“He thinks this afternoon, in the fifth vote – like Francis,” Mr Cáceres said.
Although not a single beloved candidate, both said they hoped that the cardinals would like to continue Francis’ work.
“Conclave and the Holy Spirit always work in mysterious ways,” Ms Pérez said. “But they don’t turn a deaf ear to what people say.”
The crowd on Thursday morning was definitely smaller than the many thousands of people who watched on Wednesday night, probably because many Italians were at work, but perhaps, but perhaps, of the expectations that white tobacco was more likely to come in the evening. The crowd remained heavy international on Thursday morning, with flags from around the world.
Several spectators said they were planning to get stuck all day – and they came prepared.
Philipp and Kathrin Wilmes, tourists from Germany, fill their sights on Monday and Tuesday, so they can wait six hours at St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday to see smoke. On Thursday, Mr. Wilmes, 45, had thrown his face with sunscreen waiting for another long day. He and his 39 -year -old wife had jackets, bread and water in their backpacks because they said they were not planning to move from their point against the barrier approaching the Basilica. The couple had tickets to fly back to Germany on Friday and hoped for elections before.
Maciej Czaharyn, 33, who is Polish but lives in Iceland, spent seven hours in the square on Wednesday. “I was standing all the time,” he said. “But it’s worth the sacrifice.”
On Thursday, Mr. Czaharyn brought a thin pillow to sit on the ground and a grocery store full of electrolyte bottles, chocolate cookies and cigarettes, “even though you can’t smoke here,” he said.
A group of secondary students from the University of Dallas, a Catholic School, had studied near Marino, Italy this year and expanded their stay for Conclave. They sat in a circle on the ground playing a card game. They had a large bag of chocolate chips and sandwiches cookies.
Some Italians also found their way to St. Peter.
Flavia Valle, 16, who was on the cobblestones not far from the barrier closest to Basilica, said she and several friends bypassing the Gymnasium.
“I want to see the Pope come out,” he said, showing the balcony framed by thick, red velvet curtains where the new Pontiff traditionally makes a first appearance as soon as white smoke marks his election.
He said he was hoping for another charismatic pope in Francis’s way. “Talk to the kids, the people of my age,” he said. “I liked it.”
