Papa Francesco!

By now the world saw white smoke coming from the smoke stacks at the Sistine Chapel, and we've seen the appearance of the new pope at the balcony in St. Peter's square.

                                            
Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina has been elected the 267th pope and has chosen the name Francesco.

I suspect all Venetians were on the edge of their seats hoping and praying Cardinal Angelo Scola would be the new pope.  He had been the Patriarch of Venice for many years, and was quite loved by the people of the Veneto. Three other popes have come from Venice-  Pope Pius X, Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul I.  Having Cardinal Scola as one of the front runners of the papabile (those who are pope-able) made all of us sit up and take a little bit more notice.  When the bells around Venice started ringing tonight, we all held our breath. It wasn't meant to be.

So that's the not so good news. The good news is we do have a new pope, the waiting is over.

An hour after the bells rang for the new pope, the high water sirens rang out for Venetians. A little Aqua Alta due to arrive around 11:30 pm tonight. Only 110 cm, nothing to worry about, there won't be tourists swimming in St. Mark's tonight.

News from the Conclave Day 1

Black smoke from the 1st vote - no new pope tonight.

The results of the first vote by the Cardinals holed up in the Sistine Chapel are in. They could not come to a majority agreement. I figured as much. I think getting a majority vote, 77  out of the 115 total cardinals voting, is going to be a difficult task.

Tomorrow morning the next two votes are scheduled. Stay tuned for my next smoke report.