Hundreds of people watched on giant video screens and waited for the first puffs of smoke to learn whether a pope had been elected or not.

All eyes are on the chimney over the Sistine Chapel for signs of white smoke that will herald the election of a new pope.

With all the pomp, drama and solemnity that the Catholic Church can muster, 133 cardinals began the centuries-old ritual to elect a successor to Pope Francis, celebrating a morning Mass on Wednesday before opening the most geographically diverse conclave in the faith’s 2,