Masses pray for white smoke

The crowds in St Peter's Square are today waiting for a wisp of white smoke to signal the election of a new Pope, after the first vote by cardinals in the Sistine Chapel failed to find a successor to John Paul II.

About 2 1/2 hours after the conclave locked itself away from the world inside the frescoed chapel yesterday, billows of thick, black smoke poured out of the building's chimney, indicating that the required majority had not been reached.

Tens of thousands of expectant Italians and tourists in the square cheered when they saw the smoke signal.

There was a moment of uncertainty as the first grey puffs left it unclear if the smoke was meant to be white - indicating that a Pope had been chosen. But it quickly turned a dense black.

Most Vatican experts expect a relatively quick conclave this time round, predicting that white smoke will rise above the Sistine Chapel tomorrow or Friday.

Issues facing the next Pope include Europe's growing spiritual poverty, the material poverty of the Third World and devolution of power within the church.

The cardinals are banned from communicating with the outside world, but the Vatican has taken new high-tech measures to ensure secrecy in the 21st century.

Cellphones, newspapers, television, radio and the internet are banned. A false floor has been built in the chapel to accommodate counter-bugging measures.

Despite many calls for the new Pope to come from the developing world, where more than two-thirds of Catholics live, the odds appear to be stacked against cardinals such as Nigeria's Francis Arinze and Claudio Hummes of Brazil.

Europe has half of the cardinals in the conclave and for many of the Europeans the biggest problem facing the Vatican is shrinking congregations in the West.

- REUTERS