What was the longest conclave in history? What was the shortest conclave? Here's details
UPDATE: A new pope has been named: Here's what, where and how to watch new Catholic pope on TV live stream
Over 130 Catholic cardinals across five continents gathered behind closed doors of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel on Wednesday as the world awaited the first vote.
It came Wednesday afternoon — late Wednesday evening in Rome: black smoke from the chapel chimney meant no pope yet.
The papal conclave is a secretive that is expected to take multiple days, with a new leader for the world's 1.4 billion Roman Catholics emerging.
The voting to elect a new pope has been going on for centuries, and the amount of time it takes before the puff of white smoke emerges from the chimney has varied. Here's what we know about the history of conclaves past.
What is the longest conclave in history?
The longest conclave ever took two years, nine months and two days. It ended with the election of Gregory X on Sept. 1, 1271.
Over the last 100 years, the longest conclave took 14 ballots, lasted five days and produced Pope Pius XI in 1922, the New York Times reports.
What was the shortest conclave in history? Shortest papal conclave
The shortest conclave was 10 hours and ended with the election of Pope Julius II in 1503.
Over the last 100 years, the shortest conclaves lasted a day: Pius XII was elected in 1939 (three ballots) and John Paul I in 1978 (three or four ballots), according to the New York Times.
How long was the conclave for Pope Francis?
Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday, was elected in March 2013 after five ballots were cast across two days, making it one of the quickest decisions in modern times.
How long was Pope Benedict's conclave?
During the 2005 papal conclave, Pope Benedict XVI was elected pope after four ballots over two days, ending on April 19. Benedict resigned on Feb. 28, 2013, citing a deterioration of his "strength of mind and body" due to his advanced age of 85.
Lori Comstock is a New Jersey-based journalist with the Mid-Atlantic Connect Team.