Black smoke rose from the chimney of the Sisteen Chapel at 7:42 pm Rome time on Tuesday, to indicate that a new pope was not elected on the first ballot cast by the electors of the College of Cardinals. A "failure" on the first ballot should not be seen as unexpected, especially in a conclave with no clear favorite candidates, but with several strong names from all over the world emerging as possible successors to Benedict XVI. Some observers from inside Catholic ecclesiastical circles have predicted that even if consensus is reached in a relatively short time, it may be at least Friday before the conclave reaches a vote of 2/3rds of its members plus one required to elect the Pontiff.
Meanwhile, at least one of the cardinal-electors who is seen as potential papabile, Marc Cardinal Ouellet, Archbishop Emeritus of Quebec and former head of the Congregation for Bishops, said in a homily at his titular parish in Rome on Sunday that all of the cardinal-electors should "confess their sins as well as offer forgiveness" through the Sacrament of Reconciliation so as to be able to cast their votes "with purity of heart."
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