And so, the next day we came out to the very same fountain, some of us wearing the very same clothes….

And we gathered for the surest sign of communication in this technologically advanced world: puffs of smoke. You may find that funny, but I find the ritual so incredibly beautiful. I mean, the Cardinals could notify us via email…. but what fun would that be? I mean, the adrenaline rush after seeing smoke after hours of waiting—THAT is amazing.

As the late afternoon became early evening, we awaited smoke. Now, in case you don’t know, there are only two times that you could see smoke in the early evening: the first possibility comes after the first vote. If smoke happens after the first vote, that means a pope has been elected—and it will be white smoke. The only other time you may see smoke is after the second vote, meaning that either that a pope is elected or a pope has not been elected. In both cases, black smoke means no pope; white smoke means we have a pope.

The problem is: we don’t know when the first vote ends. So, when we see smoke, we don’t know if it is after the first vote or after the second vote. If it happens after the first vote, we are certain we have a pope. And, no matter what, whenever a pope is finally elected, the bells of St. Peter’s will ring.