May 7, 2025 • 3 mins
Black smoke has billowed from Rome's Sistine Chapel, signalling a new pope's failed to be elected.
The 133 cardinals will now reconvene tomorrow to choose a successor to Pope Francis.
Jo McKenna, who's in St Peters' Square, told Mike Hosking they went up until about 9pm local time.
She says many of the cardinals are elderly and have to come back in the morning.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Joe morning to you.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Good morning, Mike. I'm sorry but that I think we've
got security blocking signals here around Saint Peter's Square.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Isn't it one of the ironic things that people men
who have given their life to the church can't be
trusted to take a phone inside.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Well, they've been in there now for almost three hours,
and I'm starting to think have they come to a
decision in the first round that we may even have
a pope this evening, because this is really unusual. Even
though we know that we have one hundred and thirty
three in there, that's a high number than we've had
in the past, but this seems really unusual.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Okay, so unusually. I was going to ask, what is
it they've done other than lobbying each other for the
past two weeks, and therefore, why wouldn't it quick vote?
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Well, they've had plenty of time to wine and dine
in various restaurants around town and meet for coffee in
various cafes. But yeah, I mean, I thought it would
be a quick vote tonight, that we would see some
votes for the lead contender. The Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin,
who seems to have, according to media reports, around fifty votes,
(01:09):
but of course that could change. I mean, is it
possible that he has managed to put together eighty nine
and have that majority that he needs to be Pope
this evening? I think he would be the likely contender.
Otherwise we're going to have a split vote tonight and
then we'll be back here tomorrow. But we're still waiting
for that smoke in Saint Peter's Square.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
What time is it eight or nine?
Speaker 2 (01:31):
It's almost nine o'clock and as we know, many of
those cardinals are quite elderly, and they have to come
back early tomorrow morning. So it's quite unusual that this
is dragging on.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Okay, if it's the front runner that you mentioned, what
do we know of him?
Speaker 2 (01:46):
If it is Cardinal Pietro Paroline, he has been a
diplomat all his life. He's been a faithful and loyal
Secretary of State, working closely with Pope Francis. He went
to Moscow in twenty nineteen, long before the conflict with Ukraine.
He's quite reserved. He would not see the sort of
(02:08):
character that would electrify the church, but he would be
considered a safe pair of hands and a moderate that
would bring together various factions. I think inside that conclave.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
You are literally embedded. So you sleep, weear eat where
what happens for you.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
I'm just a couple of blocks away from Saint Peters Square.
I'll be following every boat in the next couple of
days if we have more. And it's hard to get
me sleep at the moment because it's all happening, and
there are thousands of people here in the square waiting
to see the smoke.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
It is amazing, isn't it. I take it. You can
see the chimney.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
I can see the chimney from where I'm standing. The
Basilica looks magnificent tonight. There's a clear blue sky and
a few stars. It's really amazing. But the crowd is
getting restless. Some people are leaving, and some have started
the slow clapping that usually expected, as.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
That's such a social media age thing, isn't I mean,
it's the election of a pope. I mean, just r
this boring. It's been going on an hour and a
half now, I mean, get over yourself. What had they done?
And I do remember when Francis got elected the seagull
thing on the roof that they done anything about that.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Well, there were a few more seagulls floating around tonight
and I have to say as soon as one popped
up close to the chimney, the photographers were madly snapping,
so plenty of action on that chimney in seagull.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
Land hanging there. Job. Nice to talk to you, Joe McKenna,
who is embedded at the Vatican waiting for the smoke.
For more from the mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to
news talks. It'd be from six am weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.
Joe morning to you.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Good morning, Mike. I'm sorry but that I think we've
got security blocking signals here around Saint Peter's Square.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Isn't it one of the ironic things that people men
who have given their life to the church can't be
trusted to take a phone inside.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Well, they've been in there now for almost three hours,
and I'm starting to think have they come to a
decision in the first round that we may even have
a pope this evening, because this is really unusual. Even
though we know that we have one hundred and thirty
three in there, that's a high number than we've had
in the past, but this seems really unusual.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Okay, so unusually. I was going to ask, what is
it they've done other than lobbying each other for the
past two weeks, and therefore, why wouldn't it quick vote?
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Well, they've had plenty of time to wine and dine
in various restaurants around town and meet for coffee in
various cafes. But yeah, I mean, I thought it would
be a quick vote tonight, that we would see some
votes for the lead contender. The Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin,
who seems to have, according to media reports, around fifty votes,
(01:09):
but of course that could change. I mean, is it
possible that he has managed to put together eighty nine
and have that majority that he needs to be Pope
this evening? I think he would be the likely contender.
Otherwise we're going to have a split vote tonight and
then we'll be back here tomorrow. But we're still waiting
for that smoke in Saint Peter's Square.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
What time is it eight or nine?
Speaker 2 (01:31):
It's almost nine o'clock and as we know, many of
those cardinals are quite elderly, and they have to come
back early tomorrow morning. So it's quite unusual that this
is dragging on.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Okay, if it's the front runner that you mentioned, what
do we know of him?
Speaker 2 (01:46):
If it is Cardinal Pietro Paroline, he has been a
diplomat all his life. He's been a faithful and loyal
Secretary of State, working closely with Pope Francis. He went
to Moscow in twenty nineteen, long before the conflict with Ukraine.
He's quite reserved. He would not see the sort of
(02:08):
character that would electrify the church, but he would be
considered a safe pair of hands and a moderate that
would bring together various factions. I think inside that conclave.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
You are literally embedded. So you sleep, weear eat where
what happens for you.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
I'm just a couple of blocks away from Saint Peters Square.
I'll be following every boat in the next couple of
days if we have more. And it's hard to get
me sleep at the moment because it's all happening, and
there are thousands of people here in the square waiting
to see the smoke.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
It is amazing, isn't it. I take it. You can
see the chimney.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
I can see the chimney from where I'm standing. The
Basilica looks magnificent tonight. There's a clear blue sky and
a few stars. It's really amazing. But the crowd is
getting restless. Some people are leaving, and some have started
the slow clapping that usually expected, as.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
That's such a social media age thing, isn't I mean,
it's the election of a pope. I mean, just r
this boring. It's been going on an hour and a
half now, I mean, get over yourself. What had they done?
And I do remember when Francis got elected the seagull
thing on the roof that they done anything about that.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Well, there were a few more seagulls floating around tonight
and I have to say as soon as one popped
up close to the chimney, the photographers were madly snapping,
so plenty of action on that chimney in seagull.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
Land hanging there. Job. Nice to talk to you, Joe McKenna,
who is embedded at the Vatican waiting for the smoke.
For more from the mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to
news talks. It'd be from six am weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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