Cardinals return to vote in Vatican for 2nd day to elect new pope

Catholic Cardinals on Thursday returned to the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican City to begin a second day of voting to elect a new pope.

More than 130 cardinals are expected to vote again in the morning after spending the night sequestered at the Vatican residences.

Black smoke poured out of the Sistine Chapel chimney Wednesday evening, signaling that no pope was elected on the first ballot of the conclave.

The cardinals have been sworn to secrecy in the centuries-old ritual to elect a new leader of the 1.4 billion-member Catholic Church.

To become a pope, a cardinal needs a two-thirds majority, or 89 of the 133 votes. This conclave is the most geographically diverse conclave in the faith’s 2000-year history.

133 Cardinals from 71 different countries across the globe are in Vatican City for the Conclave , which began on Wednesday, to elect the new Pope. The conclave is taking place in the Sistine Chapel, which is now closed to the public.

Pope Francis was instrumental in making the College of Cardinals less eurocentric by expanding it to include more cardinals from other continents.

53 Cardinals from Europe, 37 from the Americas, 23 from Asia, 18 from Africa, and four from Oceania are present at the Conclave. Cardinal and Archbishop of New York Timothy Dolan is also in attendance as one of 10 Cardinals from the United States.

For the first time, 15 nations are represented by native Cardinal Electors hailing from Haiti, Singapore, Serbia, Papua New Guinea, Cape Verde, the Central African Republic, Myanmar, Rwanda, Tonga, Malaysia, Sweden, Luxembourg, Timor Leste, Paraguay, and South Sudan. The age range of the Cardinals spans generations, from the youngest being 45, Mikola Bychok of Ukraine and the oldest being 79, Carlos Osoro Sierra from Spain.

With Associated Press report