Chapter 75 75·Black Smoke

Inside the ancient Sistine Chapel.

When the bronze door is closed, it means that the first secret election has begun, and all the bishops are sitting in their respective seats.

The probability of selecting a candidate with more than qualified votes at once is too low.

The election is conducted by mutual selection, and those who obtain more than two-thirds of the votes are elected.

The list of candidates is not mentioned in advance, so multiple votes are often needed to get results.

During the election period, election-related information must not be spread to outsiders.

Awaiting the results of the election, thousands of believers gathered in St. Peter's Square outside the Sistine Chapel, staring at the chimneys of the Sistine Chapel.

Every time there is a vote, after the voting results are sorted out, smoke will emit from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel. If the smoke is black, it means that the election has not yet resulted.

If white smoke rises from the chimney, it means that a new pope has been elected.

There are three returning officers, and they are responsible for reading the names written on the ballots, counting the votes, and stringing the ballots together with black cashmere thread.

After the prayer, all the bishops picked up a very ordinary ballpoint pen at hand.

The number of wooden balls on this corresponds to the number of people present who participated in the secret election of bishops. Except for the three electoral officers, they voluntarily gave up the election to conduct the election fairly.

After seeing the ballots fall into the golden altar, the chief electoral officer will pick up a wooden ball corresponding to the name of the bishop and throw it into the silver basin aside to make a clear sound.

The bishop on the far right threads a red silk thread through a silver needle. There is a silver tray next to him. On the front is a small wooden spindle lifted by a shelf. The red thread passing through the silver needle is connected to the wooden spindle.

This was the process for every bishop to submit his ballot. More than 350 bishops came forward one by one, and the final count of votes was added.

The electoral officer sitting in the middle will pick up an oak ball the size of a thumb with the name of the bishop written on it from the wooden support on the side.

Jorge could only respond with a gentle smile. He had the same dream as he had on the plane last night.

All ballot papers are folded in half and have the seal of the Holy See of Ghana printed on the front.

And he will use the silver needle in his hand to pierce the ballots and connect the remaining ballots in the same way.

This is the entire secret election process.

But the longest one was the papal election more than 600 years ago, which lasted for more than three years.

It means that his vote was based on his heart, without any other thoughts or fraud, and he would not betray God!

Then put the ballot on the golden porcelain plate, lift the gold plate and flip it, allowing the ballot to slide into the jar below.

They come from different countries and regions, so the languages ​​they pray at this moment are different, and the Holy See has not set a unified standard for this.

The golden altar below was raised to the high table, and the returning officer on the far left took out a ballot paper.

“Okay everyone, let’s start with the pre-election prayers and then we can officially begin!”

Di Fange took a look and recorded it on the statistics sheet with a pen.

But no one received more than half of the votes.

But now that the election has begun, even if Jorge is curious and concerned about the two identical dreams he has had, there is nothing he can do at this time.

To validate my vote and confirm my choice...

And the last bishop to vote was Rama.

Even others who were in the same group as Rama noticed that something was wrong with Bishop Rama's state.

"Bamos Maldini!"

The electoral officer sitting in the middle seat counting the votes and the chief electoral officer of this election, Bishop Difange, said loudly.

This made him very puzzled, and Bishop Rama did not feel like he was suffering from a sudden onset of illness, but more like a child who was at a loss.

And at this moment, he was more concerned about Bishop Rama, who was sitting relatively close to him. His performance was too obvious.

He is the person who I think should be elected according to the will of the Holy Lord!"

Call out the name on the last ballot.

When the last ballot is placed in the golden altar and the last wooden ball is thrown into the silver basin, it means that all the votes have been collected.

Submit your ballot to the returning officer on the far right.

There were a total of five elections in the previous term, and it was a miracle that the results came out on the same day.

It is then tallied and finally the returning officer strings it together.

He stood in front of the three election officials, raised the ballot in his hand, and loudly said: "I call my witness, the great holy son 'Yega'!

The holy founder of religion.

Jorge began to wonder again whether this was a revelation given to him by the Holy Lord.

Jorge could see Bishop Rama's helplessness and depression from the other person's subtle expressions and movements.

The first election did not elect an elected pope.

Each bishop who has written his name on the ballot must stand before them, raise the ballot above his head, and pray in the name of the Lord and the Son.

Soon the first bishop to write his name on the ballot stood up and left his seat.

Just one election takes more than two hours.

Then put the ballot on the golden plate, flip it gently and let the ballot fall into the golden altar.

Otherwise, why would the same dream appear twice?

He gently rang the small golden bell next to him with the hammer. The long bell echoed in the hall, and all the bishops bowed their heads in prayer.

Jorge looked at the other party and walked back. Bishop Rama was in too bad a state.

The returning officer on the left opened the ballot and read the name on it aloud.

Everything can only be done according to the electoral process.

He should have written Stuart Griffin's name on it, but that was against the rules of the election.

They were sitting at the highest point in the Sistine Chapel hall. Directly in front of the three of them was a huge gold altar with a golden porcelain plate on it.

Bishop Rama had sweat on his forehead at this moment, and he felt very helpless at this moment.

"Jorge Bergoglio!"

But in the past secret papal elections, it took two or three days to choose, which was quite fast.

The ballots were handed over to the Chief Electoral Officer of the Center, Di Fange.

It even took several bishops to die before they were finally selected.

When all the wooden balls are placed in the silver basin, it means that all the bishops have voted and the votes can be counted.

The angel came and told him that Stuart Griffin must be the new pope. He is the Son and the Son who has returned to earth.

There is also a yellow ballot in front of them. As long as you write your name on it, you can send it to the golden altar in front.

Bishop Jorge looked around, and several bishops with good connections among them gave him affirmative looks and silently expressed that they would vote for him.

It was just an election, and Jorge didn't quite understand why the other party was in such a state.

Use scissors to cut the red thread short, and an auxiliary priest wearing a purple robe will put the bunch of votes into the furnace of the Sistine Chapel for burning.

Because there is no result selected, a powder that can produce dense black smoke needs to be added to the stove.

When black smoke came out of the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, the entire St. Peter's Square let out bursts of lamentation.

This means that the election will continue!
Chapter completed!