Ballot burning times: when to watch for white smoke
The Catholic Herald• May 7, 2025
Today 133 cardinals will enter the Sistine Chapel to begin the papal conclave, the secretive voting process that requires a two-thirds majority to elect the new leader of the global Roman Catholic Church.
The election to select the Church’s 267th pope follows the death of Pope Francis on 21 April, Easter Monday, at the age of 88 year old.
As the conclave begins, the following ballot burning times are given as rough estimates.
Wednesday 7 May
Rome — 19:00 – 20:00
London — 18:00 – 19:00
Thursday 8 May and Friday 9 May
Smoke will only appear after the first and third ballots if a pope has been elected.
After every two rounds, the cardinals’ ballot papers, on which they write the name of the person they want elected pope, are burned in one of two special stoves that are also being installed inside the Sistine Chapel for the conclave.
Black smoke billowing from the chimney indicates that no decision has been reached – a two-thirds majority is required. Once white smoke emerges that will be the signal that the next leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics has been chosen.
First ballot
Rome — 10:30
London — 09:30
Second ballot
Rome — 12:00
London — 11:00
Third ballot
Rome — 17:30
London — 16:30
Fourth ballot
Rome — 19:30
London — 18:30
Cartridges containing chemicals are added to ensure the colour of the smoke is clear. Black smoke will be created with cartridges containing potassium perchlorate, anthracene – a component of coal tar – and sulphur. White smoke will be created using a cartridge packed with potassium chlorate, lactose and chloroform resin.
The first of the two stoves installed in the Sistine Chapel for the conclave, dates back to 1939 and will be used to burn the cardinals’ ballot papers. The second stove, which is relatively new, dating to 2005, will be used to burn the cartridges that will produce either black or white smoke.
RELATED: White smoke chimney installed at Sistine Chapel for conclave
Saturday 10 May 2025
If no candidate has been elected, then this day will be set aside for prayer and reflection. The last time a conclave lasted more than three days was 1958, when John XXIII was elected on the fourth day of the conclave, though there had been no ballot on the first day. The other outlier during the 20th century was the election of Pius XI in 1922, which took five days, though there was again no ballot on the first day.
Sunday 11 May – Tuesday 13 May
Following a day of prayer and reflection, the 133 cardinals will vote in seven more ballots following the same rough schedule given above, after which, if there is still no successful candidate, the conclave will break for another day of prayer and reflection.
Wednesday 14 May onwards
The cardinals will vote in up to 18 more ballots, again following the same rough schedule given above, until a candidate receives two-thirds of all votes cast. If there is still no winner, a run-off between the two top candidates will be held until one of them receives the required majority.
The conclave’s proceedings will be conducted in Latin, the official language of the Holy See.
The potential length of the conclave is of increasing speculation. The last two were relatively swift, both lasting two days. Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was chosen as pope after five rounds of voting.
But this time there is speculation that the conclave could be much longer due to a combination of factors including the higher number of cardinals participating and the divergence of views regarding the direction that the Church should now take in the wake of Pope Francis’s reign.
RELATED: Taking charge of 1.4 billion souls: the spectacle gripping the world
Photo: Argentina’s Jorge Bergoglio, elected Pope Francis I appears at the window of St Peter’s Basilica’s balcony, near a statue of St Peter, after being elected the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church on March 13, 2013 at the Vatican. (Photo by Gabriel BOUYS / AFP via Getty.)