Preparations are speeding up as the Vatican gets ready to choose a new pope. On Friday, workers installed a chimney on top of the Sistine Chapel. This chimney is important because it will let everyone know when a new pope is elected.
After the cardinals vote, they burn the ballots in a special furnace. If they don’t pick a pope, the smoke turns black. If they do choose a popes, the smoke is white. This is how people outside know the result.
The white smoke came out on March 13, 2013, when Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Pope Francis. This chimney was installed as cardinals met in the Vatican to discuss what the Catholic Church needs in the future and what kind of pope they should choose.
All cardinals are part of these discussions, even those over 80 years old who can’t vote. Recently, they learned about the church’s serious money problems and shared their thoughts on important issues and what went well or didn’t during Pope Francis’ time.
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