The Search For A New Pope | Video

Rene Thibault | 3/12/2013

Day one of the search for the 266th leader of the Roman Catholic Church is now complete. Close to 1:40 Central Time, black smoke bellowed out of the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel, indicating that the 115 cardinals voting in the Conclave had not yet chosen the new Pope. It takes 77 votes for a cardinal to be named the new leader of the Catholic Church.

There are several cardinals favored to become the new Pope, but according to a local Catholic priest, whoever is voted into the position must be someone ready to handle world wide challenges.

“Even talking to your local bishops, it`s a lot of work just to keep your own diocese and anything that goes on. When you`re the Holy Father, you`re in charge of the church world wide. That`s a lot of weight, a lot of burden. That`s why they have to be a very {preferable} man, a very educated person. Somebody that is familiar with what`s going on in the world,” said Father Fred Harvey with the Little Flower Catholic Church.

Some experts believe that this 2013 Conclave could last up to three days. Since the turn of the 20th Century, the longest recorded election process for a new Pope lasted five days.

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