U.S. & World

Conclave Smoke Signals Date Back To 1800s

First Incident Of 'Color Confusion' Happened In 1958

VATICAN CITY (AP) ― Cardinals sequestered in the Sistine Chapel to elect a pope use an iron stove and its narrow metal chimney to announce their decision. Black smoke means they have failed; white smoke means they have succeeded.

It's unclear when the tradition began, but smoke signals have been used continuously since at least 1878.

There is little record of color confusion until the 1958 conclave, when the damp straw that the cardinals had added to their burning ballots apparently failed to catch, and the initial smoke was white.

There was some confusion Monday when the first wisps of smoke appeared white to some observers. But it quickly became clear that it was black.

The Vatican said after Pope John Paul II's death that special chemicals would be added to help avoid confusion.

Archbishop Piero Marini, master of ceremonies for liturgical celebrations, also has said when a new pope is chosen, the Vatican will ring the bells of St. Peter's Basilica, in addition to burning the ballots, "to make the election of the pope clearer."

But when the bells rang Tuesday and black smoke poured from the chimney, people in St. Peter's Square were further confused. It soon became clear that the bells were simply tolling because it was noon.

In past centuries, conclaves were often held in the town where the last pope died, leaving the cardinals to come up with a means of communication on the spot. They sometimes rang bells to signal a successful election.

Smoke was a logical choice because church tradition calls for the cardinals to burn their ballots after each vote to maintain secrecy about the conclave.

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