Thick black smoke billowed from the Sistine Chapel's chimney signalling an inconclusive first vote in the conclave to elect a new pope at a time of strife and scandal for the Catholic Church.
Thousands of followers huddled in St Peter's Square in Rome to watch the smoke pour out of the narrow flue in the rain-laden gloom following a day rich in ritual and pageantry.
After praying for divine guidance, the red-hatted cardinals took a solemn vow in Latin never to divulge any details of their deliberations. They secluded themselves behind the chapel's heavy wooden doors.
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