The first ballot of the Papal Conclave has concluded on Wednesday, with no Pope being elected.
Black smoke appeared just after 9:00pm Wednesday in Rome (5am AEST Thursday morning) from the chimney above the Sistine Chapel, signifying no candidate had achieved a two-thirds majority of votes.
The Conclave began with Mass celebrated by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the College of Cardinals in Saint Peter’s Basilica.
The Cardinals then processed from the Pauline Chapel into the Sistine Chapel as the 133 voting cardinals swore themselves to secrecy.
Following this, Archbishop Diego Ravelli, the Papal Master of Ceremonies, called out the words "extra omnes", a command for everyone who is not a cardinal elector to leave the chamber. He then shut the entrance to the Chapel.
Voting then got underway, with just a single ballot taking place.
It is rare for a Pope to be elected after just one ballot.
On Thursday, four ballots will take place, during which Cardinals will begin to consolidate around certain leading candidates.
In 2013, Pope Francis was elected on the fifth ballot and the end of the second day. In 2005, Pope Benedict XVI was elected on the fourth ballot.
The election of Pope John Paul II in 1978 took longer however, stretching into a third day as he was elected on the eighth ballot.
The large number of Cardinals voting in this conclave however may mean it takes longer to consolidate around a certain candidate and achieve the two-thirds majority vote required.