Today – March 12 – the smoke was black. If nothing else, it proved that the furnace, the chemicals and the chimney work.
There was only one round of voting today.
Beginning tomorrow – March 13 – there will be two rounds of voting in the morning, and another two rounds of voting in the evening.
If a Pope is elected in the first round of voting, the ballots are burned right away, with chemicals to turn the smoke white.
If the first round of voting is inconclusive, a second round of voting takes place immediately, without burning the first set of ballots. At the end of the second round of voting, ballots from the first round and the second round are burned together, and the smoke is made to be white or black, depending on whether or not a Pope was elected in the second round of voting.
This means that, here in Milford, we could see smoke at one of four times. The times below are EDT.
After the morning voting:
5:30-6:30 a.m. – if we see smoke at this time, it has to be white smoke.
7:00 a.m. – at this time we will see smoke every day; it might be black, it might be white.
After the afternoon voting:
12:30-1:00 p.m. – if we see smoke at this time, it has to be white smoke.
2:00 p.m. – at this time we will see smoke ever day; it might be black, it might be white.
After a white smoke signal, the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica will ring. It then takes about 40-45 minutes before the new Pope comes out on the balcony. He must first accept the office, change to white vestments and pray alone in the Pauline Chapel. Then the cardinals pledge their obedience, and they pray again. Only then, about 40-45 minutes after we see white smoke will we know who the Pope is and what name he takes.
With Open Doors 
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