By Rob Picheta, CNN
(CNN) — White smoke has risen above the Sistine Chapel, the signal that cardinals have chosen a new pope on the second day of the conclave.
His identity, and the name he will take as pontiff, will be revealed soon.
Cardinals took two days to select a new pontiff, matching the timeline from the previous two gatherings and suggesting that a leading candidate quickly impressed his peers during the secretive process.
Francis and Benedict XVI were both revealed in the evening of the conclave’s second day, while John Paul II, the longest-reigning pope of modern times, was selected on the third day in 1978.
The 133 cardinals whose voices reverberated inside the halls of the Sistine Chapel included progressives, conservatives, and self-styled unifiers from 71 different nations, and the chosen candidate will have navigated those contrasting camps to reach the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, where he will soon greet his faithful for the first time.
Crowds are eagerly waiting below in St. Peter’s Square, desperate for a glimpse of the man whose identity is moments from being revealed. The French Cardinal Protodeacon Dominique Mamberti will in the coming moments deliver, in Latin, the historic “Habemus Papam!” (“We have a pope!)” announcement.
The winner’s papal name will then be announced, and the new pope will speak briefly and say a prayer. His formal coronation will take place in the days after his election; the last two popes have been inaugurated in St. Peter’s Square.
Days of celebration ahead
The coming days are for celebration; the pontiff’s name will be uttered in homilies and masses across the Catholic world, and will spark particularly joyous scenes in his home country. Adding to festivities, and to the new pope’s diary commitments, is the fact that 2025 is a jubilee year for the church – a special celebration announced by Pope John Paul II 25 years ago, which sees a busy schedule of Vatican-organized events.
But leading the largest Christian denomination through an unpredictable era will require difficult and consequential decisions. The new pope inherits a church whose image and ambitions were transformed by its predecessor; Francis pulled the priorities of the church away from social issues such as abortion, homosexuality, gender roles and contraception, advocating instead for the world’s poor, displaced and needy, and instilling a mission anchored in altruism.
Whether or not to continue that trajectory will be a defining choice for the new pontiff. Francis’ rejection of opulence and his softer tone on social issues was praised by some Western leaders, but there remains a faction in the church advocating for a stricter line on questions of sex, gender, marriage and migration.
He must also choose carefully when to intervene on the world stage. Francis became increasingly political in the final years of his papacy, making the case for the rights of migrants, urging a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, and suggesting – to the ire of Kyiv – that Ukraine should wave “the white flag” and make concessions to end Russia’s war in the country.
These ongoing conflicts, and the rise of populism and authoritarianism around the world, set a complicated context in which the new pope – himself an important figure in global diplomacy – will operate.
And he must deal with crises from within, too. Francis’ failure to bring a close to the years-long scandal of child sexual abuse in the church will also reverberate through his successor’s papacy. Though he spoke defensively about his record on the matter, and took some important steps to tackle systemic issues involving abuse, the previous pope was accused by survivors’ groups of failing to hold accountable bishops and cardinals accused of covering up abuse.
Last year, Francis’ commission for child protection said in its first report that parts of the church are still failing to ensure that abuse is properly reported, and raised concerns about a “lack of transparency” in how the Vatican handled cases.
This is a breaking story. More details soon…
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