Age Could Help to Decide the Next Pope

So when the black smoke came at midday, most were not that surprised, training their cellphones on the giant screens flanking the square where they could see the smoke pumping out of the chimney.

Judith Duru, 22, a nursing student in Rome from Nigeria, filmed the smoke on the screen because she could not see the actual smoke from where she was standing.

She said she trusted the cardinals to select a “pope with a good heart, who can care for your people, understand your people.” Although she comes from a continent with a fast-growing Catholic population, she said she did not care where the new pope hailed from.

“I don’t do politics and religion,” she said. “It does not matter to me” where he comes from, she added. “A good pope will touch everyone.”

Before the first smoke signal of the day, Joaquín Cáceres, 30, and Lucía Pérez, 28, Argentines who live in Spain, said they had made a wager on Wednesday night after seeing the first plume of black smoke come out of the Sistine Chapel chimney.

“He thinks this morning, on the third ballot,” Ms. Pérez said.

“She thinks this afternoon, on the fifth ballot — like Francis,” Mr. Cáceres said.

Although neither had a favorite contender, both said they hoped the cardinals would want to continue Francis’ work.

“The conclave and the Holy Spirit always work in mysterious ways,” Ms. Pérez said. “But they don’t turn a deaf ear to what people say.”

The crowd on Thursday morning was decidedly smaller than the many thousands of people who attended on Wednesday night, probably because a lot of Italians were at work, but perhaps also indicative of expectations that white smoke was more likely to come in the evening. The crowd remained heavily international on Thursday morning, with flags from across the world on view.

Several onlookers said they planned to stick around all day — and came prepared.

Philipp and Kathrin Wilmes, tourists from Germany, crammed their sightseeing into Monday and Tuesday so that they could wait for six hours in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday to see the smoke. On Thursday, Mr. Wilmes, 45, had slathered his face with sunscreen expecting another long day. He and his wife, 39, had jackets, bread and water in their backpacks because they said they did not plan to move from their spot against the barrier closest to the basilica. The couple had tickets to fly back to Germany on Friday, and were hoping for an election before then.

Maciej Czaharyn, 33, who is Polish but lives in Iceland, spent seven hours in the square on Wednesday. “I was standing all the time,” he said. “But it was worth the sacrifice.”

On Thursday, Mr. Czaharyn brought a thin cushion to sit on the ground and a grocery bag filled with bottles of electrolyte drinks, chocolate cookies and cigarettes, “even though you can’t smoke in here,” he said.

A group of sophomores from the University of Dallas, a Catholic school, had been studying near Marino, Italy, this year and extended their stay for the conclave. They sat in a circle on the ground playing a card game. They had a large bag of chocolate chip cookies and sandwich fixings.

Some Italians found their way to St. Peter’s, too.

Flavia Valle, 16, who was lying on the cobblestones not far from the barrier closest to the basilica, said that she and several friends were skipping high school.

“I want to see the pope come out,” she said, pointing at the balcony framed by thick, red velvet curtains where the new pontiff traditionally makes a first appearance once the white smoke signals his election.

She said she was hoping for another charismatic pope in the mode of Francis. “He talked to the guys, people my age,” she said. “I liked him.”