"What color was the smoke, man?"
"White...they must have a new Pope."
Posted on 04/05/2005 9:55:16 AM PDT by areafiftyone
VATICAN CITY (AP) The ringing of bells will accompany the traditional signal of white smoke to announce to the world that a new pope has been elected, a top Vatican official said Tuesday.
Archbishop Piero Marini, master of ceremonies for liturgical celebrations, said the bells were being added to avoid confusion over the color of the smoke coming from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel.
Black smoke signals no decision has been made, while white smoke means a pope has been elected.
The ballots from the papal election are burned, along with a special chemical, to produce either the white or black smoke.
Marini spoke to reporters after a news conference on the plans for the ritual-filled funeral and burial of Pope John Paul II, and the norms of secrecy in the conclave to elect his successor.
``This time we plan to ring the bells to make the election of the pope clearer,'' he said, recalling the confusion that ensued in past papal elections over the color of smoke. ``This way even journalists will know.''
He also said the Vatican was trying to improve the burning procedure to make the color more easily identifiable.
"...``This way even journalists will know.''..."
Nice dig.
So nice that they're willing to ring the bells to make special accommodations for the blind.
Since when is wet straw a "special chemical"?
From what I heard on the news the other night, when they did the second 1978 Conclave, the guy in charge of putting the right smoke into the oven didn't pay as much attention to directions as he might have and confused onlookers. (I think, but am not sure, that it was one of the Cardinals.)
I saw a blurb on this on Fox News and found it interesting..
"What color was the smoke, man?"
"White...they must have a new Pope."
Those exit polls again!
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