Here's how the conclave creates black and white smoke and why the Catholic Church began using them to signal whether a new ...

The process to elect a new pope began on Wednesday, May 7, in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel, where 133 cardinal-electors from 70 countries gathered to choose a successor to Pope Francis. As the day’s ...

Black smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel's chimney on Wednesday, signaling that the College of Cardinals had not elected a pope.

Pyrotechnic chemistry drives the Vatican’s recipes for the black and white smoke used to announce papal election outcomes ...

During a Papal Conclave, the world will be watching for white or black smoke from the Vatican's chimney. Here's what it means.