Black smoke again from the Sistine Chapel
A man prays while attending the Pro Eligendo Romano Pontifice Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, after which Cardinals will enter the conclave to decide who the next pope will be, on March 12, 2013 in Vatican City, Vatican.
Black smoke emerged from the iconic Sistine Chapel again on March 13th, as Catholic cardinals failed to elect a pope on the second day of the papal conclave at the Vatican.
The cardinals voted twice on the morning of March 13th for a pope but with no conclusive results, wrote the Associated Press. They will break for lunch and vote twice again this afternoon.
Read more from GlobalPost: Papal conclave begins to elect Catholic Church's new pope
A hundred and fifteen cardinals have come together for the papal conclave, set up in the wake of Pope Benedict XVI's surprising resignation from office.
They will be completely shut off from the outside world until a decision has been made, notes the BBC, and will vote four times daily until a decision has been made in the matter.
The vote may take a while: the Associated Press notes that the difficulties of finding an appropriate leader for the conflict-beset Catholic church in 2013 will likely require a considerable amount of deliberation from the cardinals.
The Guardian has helpfully set up "Is There White Smoke.com," allowing ardent papal watchers to keep a close watch on the (rather binary) deliberations.
Here's a helpful virtual look at the conclave from CNN:
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