Pope Watch, Day 1 — Black Smoke Means No New Pontiff

The first day of the Vatican Conclave has ended without a new pope chosen.

It's not a huge surprise, considering that all 115 cardinals in the Conclave are technically nominees for pope.  The hard part is that the group will have to come to a two-thirds majority decision -- or about 77 votes.

The New York Times reports a cold, rainy day in Vatican City as the faithful flocks to St. Peter's Square.  They're waiting for the chimney in the picture above to release white smoke, which will tell the world that a new pope has been chosen.  Black smoke, such as was released today, shows that a vote took place and no winner was decided.  The winner will be the 266th pope since the founding of the Catholic Church.

This could take a while.  We'll see what happens tomorrow.