All eyes on Sistine Chapel chimney on day two of conclave

More than a dozen names are circulating, from Italian Pierbattista Pizzaballa to Hungary’s Peter Erdo and Sri Lanka’s Malcolm Ranjith.

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Anticipation gripped the Catholic world yesterday (8) as the cardinals tasked with choosing a new pope prepared to retreat behind the heavy doors of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel for their second day of voting, UCAN reported.

It said: A plume of black smoke rose over the crowds thronging St Peter's Square late on May 7, confirming that the conclave's first ballot had not secured a two-thirds majority to name a successor to the late Pope Francis.

The 133 “Princes of the Church” spent the night sequestered in the Santa Marta guesthouse and were to seek divine inspiration at private mass early on May 8 before embarking on a second day of voting.

If the morning's first secret ballot fails again to identify a clear winner from the crowded pack, a second vote will be held. If there is no consensus again, two more votes will be held in the afternoon.

The cardinals will remain behind closed doors until the newly elected 267th pontiff has a clear blessing to lead the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.

They are sworn to secrecy about the centuries-old process under threat of excommunication.