Conclave 2025 live: Cardinals set for more talks after black smoke signals no pope chosen on first day – UK Times

According to insiders, another Italian could be in the running to be the next pope: Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Patriarch of Jerusalem.

The 60-year-old is one of the younger cardinals tipped to potentially succeed Pope Francis, but he has emerged as a favourite largely thanks to his role as leader of the Catholics in the Holy Land, at a time when events in Israel and Gaza are at the forefront of global politics.

Choosing Pizzaballa would be a significant geopolitical statement by the Church, particularly because the Church has at times been highly critical of Benjamin Netanyahu.

Pope Francis was known to highly respect him, and Pizzaballa is known for being a successful diplomat and a leading Biblical scholar.

Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin has appeared on nearly every shortlist as a contender to be the next pope.

Parolin has been the Vatican’s secretary of state for the past 12 years, the next most senior member of the Catholic Church after the Pope.

His role as the Vatican’s top diplomat has brought him into contact with cardinals around the world, both in their home countries and in Rome, meaning he is well-known to all 132 other electors going into the conclave.

The 70-year-old, originally from a small town in the northern Italian region of Veneto, is said to be a steady administrator who could bring calm after three at-times tempestuous papacies.

Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reports he could already have the support of 50 cardinals ahead of their lock-up this afternoon.

Read more about Parolin below:

Pope Francis did more to promote women to leadership positions in the Vatican than any pope before him, and his successor will have to decide whether to continue that legacy, accelerate it or back down and change course.

The issue isn’t minor. Catholic women do much of the church’s work in schools and hospitals and are usually responsible for passing the faith to the next generation. But they have long complained of second-class status in an institution that reserves the priesthood for men.

Nuns are leaving in droves, either through attrition or simply quitting, leading to questions about the future of female religious orders.

The Vatican says the number of nuns globally has been haemorrhaging about 10,000 per year for over a decade, with their numbers at 599,229 at the end of 2022, the last year for which there are statistics. In 2012, there were 702,529 nuns globally.

The new pope will have to address women’s expectations for not only a greater say in church governance but also greater recognition.

The longest conclave in history lasted nearly three years, but it’s reasonable to assume that this conclave will be much, much shorter.

Cardinals this week said they expect a short conclave, though it will likely take at least a few rounds of voting.

A first round produced darks dark smoke that rose into Wednesday’s night sky, sending a disappointed crowd to disperse in all directions.

For most of the past century, it has taken between three and eight ballots to find a pope. John Paul I — the pope who reigned for 33 days — was elected on the third ballot in 1978. His successor, St. John Paul II, needed eight. Francis was elected on the fifth in 2013.