New Pope Update: Cardinals to Begin Largest Ever Conclave
Vaitcan. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa arrives in the New Hall of the Synod at the Vatican, Tuesday, May 6, 2025, the last time before the start of the conclave starting in the afternoon of Wenesday, May 7, when they will elect the successor of Pope Francis.
AP
In a historic moment for the Catholic Church, 133 cardinal electors have launched the largest conclave in modern times to select the next pope.
The world is waiting to see who will replace Pope Francis after the gathering, which reflects his expansive, international appointments to the College of Cardinals, making it markedly more diverse and less Eurocentric than past conclaves.
What Time Does the Conclave Begin?
The Wednesday ceremonies began with mass at St. Peter's Basilica at 10 a.m. local time. It was conducted by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, who also led Pope Francis' funeral service.
At around 4:15 p.m., the cardinals will gather in the Pauline Chapel to form a procession to the Sistine Chapel while singing the hymn Veni Creator, an invocation to the Holy Spirit.
The conclave will officially begin when all nonessential personnel are ordered to leave the chapel following the pronouncement of "extra omnes" ("everyone out") by the Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations, Diego Ravelli.
From that point, cardinals are isolated from the outside world, with no phones or TVs, until a pope is selected, with Swiss Guards stationed at every entrance of the Sistine Chapel.
What Happens in the Conclave?
Voting takes place twice each morning and twice each afternoon. Ballots are distributed by Vatican officials and collected in strict secrecy. A two-thirds majority is required to elect a new pope.
If no one secures that on the first ballot, the cardinals return to their guesthouse, Casa Santa Marta, for dinner and informal discussions before voting resumes the next day.
Daily routines continue, with meals and prayers structured between voting sessions. Notably, kitchen staff and waiters are also sworn to secrecy and confined to Vatican grounds for the duration of the conclave.
After each round of voting, ballots are burned. If no pope is selected, chemicals produce black smoke from the Sistine Chapel chimney.
White smoke, accompanied by the ringing of bells, signals that a new pope has been elected.
The elected cardinal is then asked if he accepts the role. Upon acceptance, he immediately becomes pope and selects a papal name.
When can we expect to see a Conclave smoke signal?
Cardinals do not have to vote on Wednesday but they can.
A possible time for first smoke on Thursday would be after 10:30 a.m., if it is white smoke (meaning a new pope has been elected) and after 12 p.m. if no pope is elected, Director of the Holy See Press Office Matteo Bruni told Vatican News.
In the event of an inconclusive vote, Cardinals would return to Santa Marta for lunch at 12:30 p.m. and then back to the Apostolic Palace at 3:45 p.m. to resume voting in the Sistine Chapel at 4:30 p.m.
If a pope is elected in an afternoon vote, white smoke can be expected after 5:30 p.m., or if a pope is not elected, black smoke should appear at around 7 p.m.
Why It Matters
This conclave not only sets a record in participation but also comes at a moment of division within the Church. The cardinals are split between supporters of Pope Francis' reforms and traditionalists who have been vocal about reversing his policies.
The next pope will shape the spiritual direction and administrative governance of the Catholic Church, the largest in the world, during a critical moment of transformation.
As the first conclave of the post-Francis era, it will determine whether the Church continues down the reformist path he charted or shifts toward a more traditional model of leadership.
What Happens Next
If no pope is elected within three days, the cardinals will take a day of reflection before resuming the process.
While a pope can theoretically be elected in the first round, this has not occurred in centuries.
Modern conclaves often last between one and five days, depending on how quickly consensus can be reached. The most recent, in 2013, elected Francis on the second day.
Related Articles
2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
This story was originally published May 7, 2025 at 7:24 AM.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Vietnam wants to be the next Asian tiger and it's overhauling its economy to make it happen.
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Beneath red banners and a gold bust of revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi's central party school, Communist Party chief To Lam declared the arrival of 'a new era of development' late last year. The speech was more than symbolic— it signaled the launch of what could be Vietnam's most ambitious economic overhaul in decades. Vietnam aims to get rich by 2045 and become Asia's next 'tiger economy' — a term used to describe the earlier ascent of countries like South Korea and Taiwan. The challenge ahead is steep: Reconciling growth with overdue reforms, an aging population, climate risks and creaking institutions. There's added pressure from President Donald Trump over Vietnam's trade surplus with the U.S., a reflection of its astounding economic trajectory. In 1990, the average Vietnamese could afford about $1,200 worth of goods and services a year, adjusted for local prices. Today, that figure has risen by more than 13 times to $16,385. Vietnam's transformation into a global manufacturing hub with shiny new highways, high-rise skylines and a booming middle class has lifted millions of its people from poverty, similar to China. But its low-cost, export-led boom is slowing, while the proposed reforms — expanding private industries, strengthening social protections, and investing in tech, green energy. It faces a growing obstacle in climate change. 'It's all hands on deck…We can't waste time anymore,' said Mimi Vu of the consultancy Raise Partners. The export boom can't carry Vietnam forever Investment has soared, driven partly by U.S.-China trade tensions, and the U.S. is now Vietnam's biggest export market. Once-quiet suburbs have been replaced with industrial parks where trucks rumble through sprawling logistics hubs that serve global brands. Vietnam ran a $123.5 billion trade surplus with the U.S. trade in 2024, angering Trump, who threatened a 46% U.S. import tax on Vietnamese goods. The two sides appear to have settled on a 20% levy, and twice that for goods suspected of being transshipped, or routed through Vietnam to avoid U.S. trade restrictions. During negotiations with the Trump administration, Vietnam's focus was on its tariffs compared to those of its neighbors and competitors, said Daniel Kritenbrink, a former U.S. ambassador to Vietnam. 'As long as they're in the same zone, in the same ballpark, I think Vietnam can live with that outcome,' he said. But he added questions remain over how much Chinese content in those exports might be too much and how such goods will be taxed. Vietnam was preparing to shift its economic policies even before Trump's tariffs threatened its model of churning out low-cost exports for the world, aware of what economists call the 'middle-income trap,' when economies tend to plateau without major reforms. To move beyond that, South Korea bet on electronics, Taiwan on semiconductors, and Singapore on finance, said Richard McClellan, founder of the consultancy RMAC Advisory. But Vietnam's economy today is more diverse and complex than those countries were at the time and it can't rely on just one winning sector to drive long-term growth and stay competitive as wages rise and cheap labor is no longer its main advantage. It needs to make 'multiple big bets,' McClellan said. Vietnam's game plan is hedging its bets Following China's lead, Vietnam is counting on high-tech sectors like computer chips, artificial intelligence and renewable energy, providing strategic tax breaks and research support in cities like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Danang. It's also investing heavily in infrastructure, including civilian nuclear plants and a $67 billion North–South high-speed railway, that will cut travel time from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City to eight hours. Vietnam also aspires to become a global financial center. The government plans two special financial centers, in bustling Ho Chi Minh City and in the seaside resort city of Danang, with simplified rules to attract foreign investors, tax breaks, support for financial tech startups, and easier ways to settle business disputes. Underpinning all of this is institutional reform. Ministries are being merged, low-level bureaucracies have been eliminated and Vietnam's 63 provinces will be consolidated into 34 to build regional centers with deeper talent pools. Private business to take the lead Vietnam is counting on private businesses to lead its new economic push — a seismic shift from the past. In May, the Communist Party passed Resolution 68. It calls private businesses the 'most important force' in the economy, pledging to break away from domination by state-owned and foreign companies. So far, large multinationals have powered Vietnam's exports, using imported materials and parts and low cost local labor. Local companies are stuck at the low-end of supply chains, struggling to access loans and markets that favored the 700-odd state-owned giants, from colonial-era beer factories with arched windows to unfashionable state-run shops that few customers bother to enter. 'The private sector remains heavily constrained,' said Nguyen Khac Giang of Singapore's ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute. Again emulating China, Vietnam wants 'national champions' to drive innovation and compete globally, not by picking winners, but by letting markets decide. The policy includes easier loans for companies investing in new technology, priority in government contracts for those meeting innovation goals, and help for firms looking to expand overseas. Even mega-projects like the North-South High-Speed Rail, once reserved for state-run giants, are now open to private bidding. By 2030, Vietnam hopes to elevate at least 20 private firms to a global scale. But Giang warned that there will be pushback from conservatives in the Communist Party and from those who benefit from state-owned firms. A Closing Window from climate change Even as political resistance threatens to stall reforms, climate threats require urgent action. After losing a major investor over flood risks, Bruno Jaspaert knew something had to change. His firm, DEEP C Industrial Zones, houses more than 150 factories across northern Vietnam. So it hired a consultancy to redesign flood resilience plans. Climate risk is becoming its own kind of market regulation, forcing businesses to plan better, build smarter, and adapt faster. 'If the whole world will decide it's a priority…it can go very fast,' said Jaspaert. When Typhoon Yagi hit last year, causing $1.6 billion in damage, knocking 0.15% off Vietnam's GDP and battering factories that produce nearly half the country's economic output, roads in DEEP C industrial parks stayed dry. Climate risks are no longer theoretical: If Vietnam doesn't take strong action to adapt to and reduce climate change, the country could lose 12–14.5% of its GDP each year by 2050, and up to one million people could fall into extreme poverty by 2030, according to the World Bank. Meanwhile, Vietnam is growing old before it gets rich. The country's 'golden population' window — when working-age people outnumber dependents — will close by 2039 and the labor force is projected to peak just three years later. That could shrink productivity and strain social services, especially since families — and women in particular — are the default caregivers, said Teerawichitchainan Bussarawan of the Centre for Family and Population Research at the National University of Singapore. Vietnam is racing to pre-empt the fallout by expanding access to preventive healthcare so older adults remain healthier and more independent. Gradually raising the retirement age and drawing more women into the formal workforce would help offset labor gaps and promote 'healthy aging,' Bussarawan said. ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
You really can see Russia from Alaska, and other things to know ahead of Friday's Trump-Putin summit
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — When U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet in Alaska on Friday, it will be the latest chapter in the 49th state's long history with Russia — and with international tensions. Siberian fur traders arrived from across the Bering Sea in the first part of the 18th century, and the imprint of Russian settlement in Alaska remains. The oldest building in Anchorage is a Russian Orthodox church, and many Alaska Natives have Russian surnames. The nations are so close — Alaska's Little Diomede Island in the Bering Strait is less than 3 miles (5 kilometers) from Russia's Big Diomede — that former Gov. Sarah Palin was right during the 2008 presidential race when she said, 'You can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska,' though the comment prompted jokes that that was the extent of her foreign policy experience. Alaska has been U.S. territory since 1867, and it has since been the location of the only World War II battle on North American soil, a focus of Cold War tensions and the site of occasional meetings between U.S. and world leaders. Here's a look at Alaska's history with Russia and on the international stage: The fur traders established hubs in Sitka and on Kodiak Island. The Russian population in Alaska never surpassed about 400 permanent settlers, according to the Office of the Historian of the U.S. State Department. Russian settlers brutally coerced Alaska Natives to harvest sea otters and other marine mammals for their pelts, said Ian Hartman, a University of Alaska Anchorage history professor. 'It was a relationship that the Russians made clear quite early on was not really about kind of a longer-term pattern of settlement, but it was much more about a short-term pattern of extraction,' Hartman said. Meanwhile, Russian Orthodox missionaries baptized an estimated 18,000 Alaska Natives. By 1867 the otters had been hunted nearly to extinction and Russia was broke from the Crimean War. Czar Alexander II sold Alaska to the U.S. for the low price of $7.2 million — knowing Russia couldn't defend its interests in Alaska if the U.S. or Great Britain tried to seize it. Skeptics referred to the purchase as 'Seward's Folly,' after U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward. That changed when gold was discovered in the Klondike in 1896. World War II and the Cold War The U.S. realized Alaska's strategic importance in the 20th century. During World War II the island of Attu — the westernmost in the Aleutian chain and closer to Russia than to mainland North America — was captured by Japanese forces. The effort to reclaim it in 1943 became known as the war's 'forgotten battle.' During the Cold War, military leaders worried Soviets might attack via Alaska, flying planes over the North Pole to drop nuclear weapons. They built a chain of radar systems connected to an anti-aircraft missile system. The military constructed much of the infrastructure in Alaska, including roads and some communities, and its experience building on permafrost later informed the private companies that would drill for oil and construct the trans-Alaska pipeline. Last year the Pentagon said the U.S. must invest more to upgrade sensors, communications and space-based technologies in the Arctic to keep pace with China and Russia, and it sent about 130 soldiers to a desolate Aleutian island amid an increase in Russian military planes and vessels approaching U.S. territory. Past visits by dignitaries Putin will be the first Russian leader to visit, but other prominent figures have come before him. Japanese Emperor Hirohito stopped in Anchorage before heading to Europe in 1971 to meet President Richard Nixon, and in 1984 thousands turned out to see President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II meet at the airport in Fairbanks. President Barack Obama visited in 2015, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to set foot north of the Arctic Circle, on a trip to highlight the dangers of climate change. Gov. Bill Walker welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping at the airport in Anchorage in 2017 and then took him on a short tour of the state's largest city. Four years later Anchorage was the setting for a less cordial meeting as top U.S. and Chinese officials held two days of contentious talks in their first face-to-face meeting since President Joe Biden took office two months earlier. Critics say Alaska is a poor choice for the summit Sentiment toward Russia in Alaska has cooled since Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022. The Anchorage Assembly voted unanimously to suspend its three-decade-long sister city relationship with Magadan, Russia, and the Juneau Assembly sent its sister city of Vladivostock a letter expressing concern. The group Stand Up Alaska has organized rallies against Putin on Thursday and Friday. Dimitry Shein, who ran unsuccessfully for Alaska's lone seat in the U.S. House in 2018, fled from the Soviet Union to Anchorage with his mother in the early 1990s. He expressed dismay that Trump has grown increasingly authoritarian. Russia and the U.S. 'are just starting to look more and more alike,' he said. Many observers have suggested that holding the summit in Alaska sends a bad symbolic message. 'It's easy to imagine Putin making the argument during his meetings with Trump that, 'Well, look, territories can change hands,'' said Nigel Gould-Davies, former British Ambassador to Belarus and senior fellow at the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London. ''We gave you Alaska. Why can't Ukraine give us a part of its territory?''
Politico
3 hours ago
- Politico
North Korean and Russian leaders reaffirm alignment over Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin praised North Korean troops for their 'bravery, heroism and self-sacrificing spirit' on his front lines. Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pose in Pyongyang, North Korea, on June 19, 2024. | Kristina Kormilitsyna, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP By Associated Press 08/12/2025 10:56 PM EDT SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone call to discuss their deepening ties and war efforts against Ukraine, the countries' state media said Wednesday, ahead of Putin's planned meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska. Putin during the call on Tuesday praised the 'bravery, heroism and self-sacrificing spirit' displayed by North Korean troops as they fought with Russian forces to repel a Ukrainian incursion into Russia's Kursk border region, North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said. Putin also shared with Kim information about his upcoming talks with Trump scheduled to take place Friday in Alaska, according to Russia's TASS news agency, citing the Kremlin. The North Korean reports did not mention the Trump meeting.
