Black Smoke on Papal Conclave Day 2 Means
The New Pope Not Chosen in Voting
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The College of Cardinals are meeting again Thursday to vote in a papal conclave — a secret ballot where two-thirds majority is required for the election of a new pontiff. After each round of submissions, ballots are read aloud and then burned. The ashes are used to notify audiences around the world and onlookers in St. Peter’s Square of the election’s status.
After two ballots failed to elect a pope, the 133 cardinals broke for lunch ahead of at least one further round of conclave voting in the afternoon.
The cardinals are secluded from the outside world in order to ensure the integrity of the vote is not compromised, and so they take their meals at a Vatican guesthouse. And while the Sistine Chapel is known for its elegance, the meals the cardinals are being served are considered very simple Italian fare like pastas, soups, arrosticini (lamb skewers) and boiled vegetables, according to the BBC.
“Food you could eat at a train station” was how Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, a conclave veteran from the Italian city of Genoa, described the standard of food to the New York Times . “Not exciting.”
The meals are prepared by religious sisters and designed to be straightforward to help the conclave concentrate. Items like stuffed ravioli and roast chicken are prohibited since they may posed security concerns as they could potentially conceal messages intended to breach the conclave’s strict confidentiality.