Pope Election Day 2: Black smoke signaling second and third vote inconclusive

Black smoke has poured from Sistine Chapel chimney, signaling that the second and third votes in the Papal election have been inconclusive.

Cardinals have been meeting for a second day to choose a successor to Pope Benedict XVI, who resigned last month.

The 115 electors are shut off in Vatican’s Sistine Chapel and a nearby residence until two-thirds agree on a leader for the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics.

Further votes will be held this afternoon.

Starting with today, the cardinals will vote four times daily until a single candidate garners a two-thirds majority, at which point the smoke coming from the Sistine Chapel chimney will be white.

Before the conclave began there was no clear frontrunner to replace Pope Benedict.