Cardinals fail to choose new Pope

YEREVAN, MARCH 13, ARMENRPESS. On March 12 black puffs of smoke were seen over the chimney installed on the roof of the Sistine Chapel on the first day of conclave. This means that the cardinals failed to choose the new Pope of Rome. "Armenpress" reports about this citing the local mass media.

The voting will go on today. White smoke coming from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel will announce about the election of Benedict XVI’s successor. 115 cardinals participate in the conclave. Each of the cardinal, electors, those under age 80 who are eligible to vote, then swore an oath of secrecy, led by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the most senior cardinal in the conclave. A designated official then gave the order in Latin, "Extra omnes" -- that is, "All out." With all those not taking part in the conclave gone, the cardinals will remain locked in total isolation until one candidate can garner two-thirds of their votes. That man will emerge from the process as the new spiritual leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics.

The conclave launched on March 12, when the heavy wooden doors to the Sistine Chapel swung closed. Earlier, the cardinals celebrated a special morning Mass at St. Peter's Basilica, where they prayed for guidance in making a choice that could be crucial to the future direction of a church rocked by scandal in recent years. Members of the public waited in long lines Tuesday morning to join the Mass, which was open to all. Applause echoed around St. Peter's as Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, offered thanks for the "brilliant pontificate" of Benedict XVI, whose unexpected resignation precipitated the selection of a new pope.

Pope of Rome Benedict XVI resigned on February 28, 2013. Last case of resignation in the history of papacy has been recorded in 1415. That was Gregory XII, who resigned in 1415. The 85-year-old became Pope Benedict XVI in April 2005 following the death of John Paul II.

Benedict XVI was born in 16 April 1927. He is the 265th Pope, a position in which he served dual roles as Sovereign of the Vatican City State and leader of the Catholic Church. As Pope, he was regarded as the successor of Saint Peter the Apostle. Benedict XVI was elected on 19 April 2005 in a papal conclave, celebrated his Papal Inauguration Mass on 24 April 2005, and took possession of his cathedral, the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, on 7 May 2005. A native of Bavaria, Pope Benedict XVI has both German and Vatican citizenship.