On March 12, all 115 cardinal electors from 48 countries voted inside the papal conclave to determine a new pope. At approximately 2:40 p.m. EST on Tuesday, black smoke rose from the chimney above the Sistine Chapel, indicating the first vote was inconclusive. As the world waits in anticipation to see who will be elected as the next pope, CNN is providing extensive online and TV coverage, led by its seasoned reporters, Anderson Cooper and Chris Cuomo. The historic gathering will affect more than one billion Catholics across the globe.
CNN interviewed an American family that was in Rome on Tuesday. They attended a morning mass with the cardinals and then waited for the smoke signal. “I thought it was white at first. We were disappointed when it was black because we are leaving tomorrow,” the tourist said on CNN.
Most of the cardinal electors have been in Rome since February 28 when Pope Benedict XVI resigned, but they were unable to set a date for the conclave until last Thursday when the last cardinal from Vietnam arrived.
CNN is offering extensive and continuing coverage on the search for a new pope, both on TV and online. In addition to Anderson Cooper and Chris Cuomo, Ben Wederman, Miguel, Dan Rivers and Becky Anderson are also reporting live from Rome during the papal conclave. CNN Vatican Analyst John Allen contributes a personal perspective.
The papal conclave is also being covered by CNN on a special page at CNN.com/Pope, which explains how the new pope will be chosen, gives a glimpse into the Catholic Church today, and explains why this matters to non-Catholics. CNN.com/live is also live streaming coverage of the smoke that comes from the Vatican's rooftop online and on CNN apps.
Additionally, CNN.com has two interactive features related to the pope. One explains how the next pope will be decided and another breaks down information on the possible papal contenders. Users can also click through photo galleries of the shortest- and the longest-reigning popes.
CNN iReport, the network’s global participatory news community, invites users to submit their predictions as to who will be the next pope and what they think this means for the Catholic Church.
The world will know that a pope has been elected when white smoke rises from the chimney above the Sistine Chapel. Until then, Anderson Cooper and Chris Cuomo and a team of reporters from CNN are providing minute-by-minute updates all this week while the College of Cardinals remains isolated from the world to elect the new leader of the Catholic Church.
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