SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
On the edge of St. Peter's Square, where this evening, black smoke emerged from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel.
(CHEERING)
DETROW: The conclave to elect the next pope is officially underway, and, no surprise, the College of Cardinals did not reach a two-thirds majority on its very first ballot.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED CHOIR: (Singing in non-English language).
DETROW: The first day of the conclave is a day filled with ceremony. It began with morning Mass at St. Peter's Basilica. Then this afternoon, the 133 voting cardinals processed together through the Vatican, past the Swiss Guards and into the Sistine Chapel, under its famous frescoes painted by Michelangelo.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED CARDINALS: (Chanting in non-English language).
DETROW: Walking two by two in their scarlet choir dress, the cardinals chanted the Litany of the Saints...
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED CARDINALS: (Chanting in non-English language).
DETROW: ...A formal appeal for guidance and blessings from the major figures of the Catholic Church. They bowed before the altar, looking at Michelangelo's fresco of The Last Judgment, where the blessed are ascending to heaven and the damned are being herded to hell. They took their seats at tables draped in burgundy, set up lengthwise down the sides of the chapel, where they could look up at the illustrations of the creation story. Then they each swore a solemn oath.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED CARDINAL: (Non-English language spoken).
DETROW: And finally...
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
DIEGO RAVELLI: Extra omnes.
DETROW: ...The master of liturgical ceremonies proclaimed extra omnes, the formal order delivered in Latin - everyone out. From that point forward, all we on the outside can do is look at the chapel's chimney and wait for smoke.
And that is exactly what NPR's religion correspondent, Jason DeRose, has been doing with me all day here on the edge of the square. Jason, they kind of gave us a scare tonight.
JASON DEROSE, BYLINE: That's right, Scott. More than three hours behind closed doors before the black smoke.
DETROW: Beyond that wait, what were your first impressions of today's first day of the conclave?
DEROSE: Well, this is a religious ceremony, not just an election. I think we often get caught up in the politics of a papal election, what issues and candidates are most prominent. But I'm struck by how the day has been an extended liturgy, beginning with a Mass this morning, later in the day a procession into the Sistine Chapel, and the singing of the hymn "Veni Creator Spiritus" to pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit.
DETROW: That is all true, and yet there has been so much debate and discussion over these past few days. There has been some political posturing. What can you tell us about that?
DEROSE: Well, Scott, the cardinals in the days leading up to the conclave have been talking about the world - how wars and conflicts from Gaza to Ukraine to Sudan affect human lives, how technology is changing people's relationship to each other and to the church, how climate change is affecting huge swaths of the church in Asia and Africa and South America. I would say all of those are ways in which Pope Francis is influencing this conclave from beyond the grave. You know, he appointed large numbers of cardinals from places in conflict, places affected by climate change. And having those cardinals from those places in that room changes the conversation.
DETROW: Yeah, and there's also been a lot of focus on not just the church in the world but also discussions of the world of the church.
DEROSE: That's right. The church is a human institution, too, and one that makes mistakes and is often self-referential. Among the topics cardinals discussed in the days leading up to the conclave - church finances, which are not in good shape, the ongoing fallout of clergy sexual abuse, which they've still not been able to effectively get a handle on despite decades of trying.
Also how the church talks about doctrine - I want to read you a quote from the sermon from this morning's Mass given by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals. Quote, "the unity of the church is willed by Christ, a unity that does not mean uniformity but a firm and profound communion in diversity." And I think that's interesting that he's stressing unity, not uniformity, and community in diversity because there's been a lot of the use of this word unity as a way to criticize people who want discussion, who want openness to different, more diverse ways of being the church in the world.
DETROW: This is the point where the conclave gets very hard to report on because, by definition, the cardinals are locked away. We have no...
DEROSE: Exactly.
DETROW: ...Idea what's happening at this point forward. What generally, though, from the reporting we've gathered, from what we've observed - what generally do we have a sense of when it comes to what they're considering?
DEROSE: Well, I think it's fair to say, one of the big questions before them is whether they want to continue the reforms that Pope Francis began. Those were popular with many progressives but unpopular with conservatives. Or do the cardinals want to go in another direction, perhaps a more conservative one, perhaps in the vein of Benedict XVI? Or is there a middle path keeping on the reform track but maybe moving more slowly than Francis did?
But again, Scott, those are political considerations and, as I said earlier, the cardinals also view this as a profoundly religious spiritual time. They believe the Holy Spirit is helping them discern God's will. And as many cardinals have said over the last several weeks, they're electing the successor to St. Peter, not the successor to Pope Francis.
DETROW: The big question is how long this will last. How should we think about that question? How much should we read into it?
DEROSE: Well, most recent conclaves have been fairly short, between one and three days. So I'd expect something in that vicinity. Starting tomorrow, there'll be two morning votes and two afternoon votes until someone gets a two-thirds supermajority. The thought is that nobody wants a long conclave because it could signal disunity or internal conflicts, and I am not expecting a reenactment of the 13th century papal election that lasted almost three years.
DETROW: That is NPR religion correspondent Jason DeRose with me here in Rome. We'll be back again tomorrow. Jason, thanks so much.
DEROSE: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
