Place Saint-Pierre retains his breath

Of our special envoy to Rome

As soon as they knew the precise date of the start of the conclave, David and his friend John took their plane tickets. Starting from one of Florida, the other of Ohio, the two Americans wanted to be on the Place Saint-Pierre for the election of the next successor of Pierre. They are therefore there, Place Saint-Pierre, to scrutinize the old chimney pipe stowed at the roof of the Sistine Chapel, in which the cardinals are gathered for their vote.

As of Wednesday, May 7, for the first ballot, no less than 45,000 people gathered in front of the Vatican to watch for the result. Quietly installed on the tiles next to the fireplace, seagulls come and go, observing the strange scene of a corner of the eye. Below, the pilgrims rob their phones and cameras to the right side of the Saint-Pierre basilica-when they do not return to take selfie with the loggia in the background where the new Pope will give his first blessing.

David and John arrived on site in the early afternoon, to be at the forefront. On the spot, they met Costanza, a young German in Erasmus in Bologna. She too took her tickets to come to Rome as soon as he entered the Conclave. Do they have forecasts, favorite candidates? “No, the names are little matter, what will count is the actions,” says David with Emphase. Only one wish: that the conclave does not last too much, especially since they have planned to siege in the square as long as it will be necessary – or that it will be necessary to leave, in a week for the Americans, “Friday evening or Saturday morning at the latest” for Costanza.

A few steps away, a Salesian priest spends time by telling anecdotes on popes and cardinals to an Italian who seems to drink her words. “You know, I am on my third conclave …”, he says not without a certain pride. Large accustomed to the process, therefore, he does not believe in the election of a pope in the first round. “It would be a miracle if the smoke was white tonight,” he said in a learned tone. Before adding, more smiling: “But in the Catholic Church it is also necessary to count with miracles!”

3 hours and 14 minutes

The minutes go slowly, the night is now black. At 8 p.m., it’s been 2 hours and 13 minutes that the cardinals are locked in the Sistine Chapel. In 2013, it took them 2 hours and 8 minutes to announce their first negative result. In 2005, 2 hours and 39 minutes. And this year, the conclave must count with a record number of voters … But in the Place Saint-Pierre, the crowd is getting impatient and, as if to encourage the cardinals, begins to applaud. Already, tired faithful begin to leave the place. A nun is unwell, also abandons Saint-Pierre square, installed on a stretcher worn by an electric cart.

At 9 p.m. precisely, the giant screens which broadcast a close -up of the chimney go out – it must be the scheduled time each evening. Bad luck, a minute later the scrolls finally escape: after 3 hours and 14 minutes, the cardinals finally communicate with the outside world! But the smoke is black. Tonight, “Nessun Miracolo, sighs the Salesian. No miracle.”