Seagulls Roosting on Sistine Chapel Roof End Up with VIP Seats to Papal Conclave
The Sistine Chapel seagulls are becoming the stars of the 2025 papal conclave.
The livestream of the historic event, which began in the early morning hours of Wednesday, May 7, panned to a flock of seagulls perched on the roof of the Sistine Chapel, including an adorable fluffy seagull chick, to the delight of viewers watching from home.
The birds stuck around for the secretive voting process, but appeared to clear out at 3 p.m. ET, when the cardinals expelled black smoke from the chimney to indicate that a decision on the next pope is yet to be made, per USA Today.
Social media users shared humorous reactions to the scene of the curious seagulls. "This seagull is all of us rn," LifeSite Catholic wrote in a post on X.
"Shoutout to that one seagull locked in on the Conclave proceedings," Father Cassidy Stinson wrote on X.
Alistair Bruce of Sky News and ABC shared a video of the whole seagull family, writing on X, "our #Conclave distraction … seagull family on our roof in Rome."
Another user wrote excitedly on X, "ONE OF THE CONCLAVE SEAGULLS BROUGHT A BABY SEAGULL."
The conclave seagulls appear to be a tradition. Several X accounts with posts dating back to 2013, during the conclave that ended with Pope Francis' election, documented seagulls visiting the Vatican.
The live stream of the ongoing election among the College of Cardinals to select the late Pope Francis' successor has captured the attention of thousands of viewers online. The first pope from Latin America died on Monday, April 21, at 88.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
On Wednesday, May 7, only one vote was held among the College of Cardinals. Cardinals will be eligible to vote twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon going forward, the Vatican confirmed.
Cardinals under the age of 80 compose the voting body of the College of Cardinals eligible to vote for the 267th pope. Black smoke released from the Sistine Chapel indicates that voting is ongoing, while white smoke indicates that a new pope has been selected. The College of Cardinals is sequestered from the outside world throughout the papal election, in a process well documented in the 2024 film Conclave.
The conclave typically begins 15 to 20 days after the death of a pope, and takes as long as needed. Pope Francis was elected after only one day of voting. He was the first Latin American pope and held openly progressive views on immigration and the LGBTQ+ community.
Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Meeting of the College of Cardinals in the Sistine Chapel.
Meeting of the College of Cardinals in the Sistine Chapel.
Kathleen Sprows Cummings, a Pope Francis expert and professor of American Studies and History at the University of Notre Dame, previously spoke to PEOPLE regarding the process, which dates back to the 13th century.
'So, the proceedings of the conclave are secret,' Cummings told PEOPLE. She elaborated that 'invariably things leak out,' citing the meeting that led to Francis' papacy over a decade ago.
The conclave is livestreamed daily on YouTube on the Vatican's official account.
Read the original article on People
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Wire
20 minutes ago
- Business Wire
Intradiem Named a 2025 Top Workplace by USA Today, Earning Five Culture Excellence Awards
ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Intradiem, the leading provider of contact center automation solutions for customer service teams, has been recognized as a 2025 USA Today Top Workplace, a prestigious national award. Intradiem received five Culture Excellence badges for Compensation & Benefits, Work-Life Flexibility, Leadership, Innovation, and Purpose & Values. The USA Today Top Workplaces program evaluates organizations based on employee surveys that measure key aspects of workplace culture, including alignment, execution, and connection. Intradiem's recognition reflects its commitment to fostering a people-first culture that empowers employees and drives innovation. 'Being named a USA TODAY Top Workplace is a testament to the inclusive, people-first culture we've cultivated,' said Jennifer Lee, President & Co-CEO of Intradiem. 'This honor underscores our commitment to providing an environment where employees feel valued, supported, and inspired to innovate. Our people are at the heart of everything we do, and this recognition reflects the strength of our collective efforts.' Intradiem's people-first culture empowers employees to bring their full selves to work, fostering an environment of trust, collaboration, and shared purpose. This internal focus on employee well-being and empowerment directly translates into more thoughtful, responsive, and customer-centric service—creating a cycle where employee satisfaction fuels customer success. For more information, please visit About Intradiem At Intradiem, we believe the best technology is technology that supports humans. We are the only people-first customer service solution that has a real, long-lasting impact on your people, your customers, and your brand. We uncover, in real time, the untapped capacity in your contact center and give you the ability to use that capacity where it has the most impact. Time for Training, coaching, and wellness breaks – at the right time, every time. Automatic schedule updates. Call handling support. And with hard dollar savings that more than pay for itself. Intradiem: Contact center automation designed by humans, for humans.
USA Today
27 minutes ago
- USA Today
New official portrait of President Trump unveiled by White House
Hear this story The White House unveiled President Donald Trump's official portrait this week, replacing an austere photograph that was released for the president's inauguration earlier this year. Introduced in an eight-second video by the White House Monday, June 2, the portrait depicts the president in a blue suit and a red tie against a black backdrop, looking at the camera with a furrowed brow and serious expression. The image is high-contrast, darkly lit and close-up to the president's face. The portrait's lack of background and Trump's unsmiling gaze further differentiates it from those of his predecessors. Nearly all of the last 10 presidents have all smiled in their portraits, ranging from President Richard Nixon's beaming expression to President George W. Bush's grin. Trump's official portrait for his first term was more closely aligned with the traditional portrait style − featuring a smile and a background with the American flag. The new official portrait was installed in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and replaced the previous photograph on the White House' biography page for the 47th president. The White House released an official portrait of first lady Melania Trump one week after her husband was sworn into office. The National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. has the only complete collection of American presidential portraits outside of the White House available for public viewing, though it is unclear if Trump's recently-unveiled portrait will soon join the exhibit. The new portrait comes after Trump announced May 30 he was firing the gallery's director, Kim Sajet, citing her alleged support of diversity, equity and inclusion. Kathryn Palmer is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her atkapalmer@ and on X @KathrynPlmr.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Prince Harry and King Charles' Royal Rift That Won't Heal: 'The Underlying Issue Is Trust' (Exclusive)
King Charles faces increasing pressure to repair his fractured relationship with Prince Harry Despite Harry's public call for reconciliation, the monarch has yet to make a personal move toward reconciliation Trust remains the biggest barrier to a reunion; insiders say neither King Charles nor Prince William are ready to bridge the divideAs King Charles sat on a throne carved from Windsor trees at Canada's Parliament on May 27, delivering a message of unity amid rising U.S.-Canada tensions, his estranged son Prince Harry was thousands of miles away in Shanghai. Though briefly on the same continent, father and son remain emotionally worlds apart. 'The True North is indeed strong and free,' Charles, 76, declared — earning praise for his statesmanship, even as he continues weekly cancer treatments. 'He could give a master class in diplomatic relations,' Ailsa Anderson, former press secretary to Queen Elizabeth, tells PEOPLE in this week's cover story. But another challenge looms — one no speech can fix: his fractured relationship with his son, who told the BBC in May: 'I don't know how much longer my father has… He won't speak to me.' The man Charles called his 'darling boy' was meant to be 'one of his reliable lieutenants he could call on to support the monarchy,' says royal historian Dr. Ed Owens, author of After Elizabeth: Can the Monarchy Save Itself? That vision unraveled in 2020 when Harry and Meghan Markle, 43, stepped back from royal duties and moved to Montecito, California. The rift deepened with bombshell interviews, their Netflix docuseries and Harry's best-selling memoir Spare, which alleged a physical altercation with Prince William, 42. While William remains firmly estranged from Harry and Meghan, some royal observers believe it's King Charles — head of the Church of England and a longtime advocate for unity — who should take the first step. But inside palace walls, hesitation reigns. At times, there has been a desire to reconnect — but 'the underlying issue is trust,' says royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith. 'The King and William don't trust Harry and Meghan with any kind of confidential conversation.' Charles, insiders say, isn't surrounded by voices encouraging reconciliation. William has shown no interest in extending an olive branch, and Queen Camilla, 77 — sharply criticized in Spare — 'stays out of it,' says a source. Even senior aides like Clive Alderton, also mentioned in Harry's memoir, are unlikely to push for a personal outreach. 'There is not a good angel in his ear to say, 'Be a good dad and make the first move,'' says Valentine Low, author of the upcoming book Power and the Palace. Despite Harry's call for peace, his BBC comments were widely seen as another blow. 'It wasn't meant to be an attack, but it would be seen as one,' Low says. 'It makes Charles reaching out even harder.' And with the King still being treated for an undisclosed type of cancer, the stakes are growing. 'If you have that level of breach in a family, and you are estranged, you run that risk every day of having something unfathomable to deal with,' says Catherine Mayer, author of Charles: The Heart of a King. Even before recent events, Charles and Harry's dynamic was complex. Harry, the son of a broken marriage, lost his mother, Princess Diana, in tragic and public circumstances. Amid the rift with his father, Harry spoke with his uncle Charles Spencer about changing his family's last name to his mother's surname, Spencer, but was told the legal hurdles would be too great. 'There is so much baggage there that the idea that one meeting would resolve everything is ridiculous,' Mayer tells PEOPLE. 'But having some contact would seem better than none.' At the heart of the dispute is security. Harry says losing his official protection endangers his family, making him unwilling to bring Meghan and their children, Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, who turns 4 on June 4, to the U.K. He believes Charles can reverse the decision, but the palace says the courts have 'examined [it] repeatedly and meticulously.' Low warns that the split could 'potentially damage [Charles'] legacy.' Still, he believes most people can separate the private drama from his public role: 'This is a family rift rather than a constitutional rift — it's what happens to families. Both sides have to reach a point where they realize they can't carry on as they are.' For now, father and son remain focused on their separate paths across the Atlantic. Harry, backed by a new communications team, is exploring new commercial ventures alongside his philanthropic work. Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage? to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more! Charles, meanwhile, continues to show stamina. A senior aide noted after the Canada trip that the King is managing his illness amid 'incredible advances' in medicine and is determined to live life 'as normal as possible.' For Harry, that resolve may offer a glimmer of hope. 'I would like to think the King will take that step toward reconciliation with Harry in due course," Owens says. Read the original article on People
