BREAKING: Habemus Papam! White Smoke At Vatican Signals New Pope

This is no malfunction in the Sistine Chapel furnace. That happened in the earlier vote, when a brief puff of white smoke emanated from the morning ballot at the conclave. The Vatican has confirmed that the cardinal electors have chosen a new pontiff to lead the Catholic Church:

BREAKING: White smoke appears from the Sistine Chapel, signaling a new pope has been elected.

Watch ABC for live coverage. https://t.co/boci62JFy1 pic.twitter.com/1CS9bhrAOi

— ABC News (@ABC) May 8, 2025

Crowds in St. Peter’s Square erupted in cheers as bells pealed from the towering basilica, confirming that the 133 cardinal electors who have been sequestered inside since Wednesday had reached a two-thirds majority decision on who will succeed Pope Francis.

The new pope’s identity will be revealed shortly by Dominique Mamberti, the senior cardinal deacon, who convention says will appear on the St. Peter’s balcony that overlooks the square and announce, “Habemus Papam” — “We have a pope.”

No word yet on the identity or regnant name of the new pope. The new pontiff will first spend some time reflecting on his task, then get outfitted for his first public audience shortly. Stand by for updates.

Update: This turned out to be a relatively short conclave. It’s only slightly shorter than the 2013 and 2005 conclaves, though. This process works very well to generate the necessary pre-conclave comity and awareness, and modern travel and communications allow the cardinalate to remain in contact with each other. The timing does not surprise me. 

Update: I updated the front page image to today’s smoke signal. The first image was from the 2013 conclave, which was the only such image in the library at first. 

[more to come]