Washington DC [US], May 8 (ANI): Black smoke rose from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday, meaning that cardinals did not elect a new Pope on the first day of the conclave, CNN reported.

The cardinals returned to the Santa Marta residence, where they'll remain sequestered until a second day of voting begins on Thursday, as per CNN.

The elections of Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis were swift by historical standards. Both Popes were appointed on the second day of voting. Pope Benedict required four rounds of voting; Pope Francis took five.

Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict's predecessor, took slightly longer. He was elected in 1978 on the third day of voting, in the eighth round.

The conclaves held earlier in the 20th century took more time. In 1903, it took five days of voting to elect Pope Pius X - the same number it took to elect Pius XII in 1939, as per CNN.

The Catholic Church began the highly secretive process known as the 'conclave' on Wednesday to elect the next pontiff following the death of Pope Francis last month. There are 133 voting cardinals, and any one of them needs to receive more than two-thirds of the vote to become the new pope. Take a look at how the voting process works.

At the end of each voting session, the cardinals burn the ballots. Black smoke means the cardinals haven't reached a consensus, and white smoke means there's a new Pope.

The conclave process is highly secretive, which allows the church and cardinals 'freedom' to choose a pope without outside influence, Rev Sam Sawyer, a Jesuit priest and President and editor-in-chief at America Media, told CNN.

'I think the secrecy really it's meant to help the cardinals discern in freedom, so it gives them the freedom to vote within their own conscience for the man they think is best suited to be the pope,' Sawyer said.

While in contemporary times the conclave allows cardinals 'freedom of conscience' and the ability 'to be really frank with each other and then also to vote according to how the spirit moves them,' historically the secretive process played a more protective role, Sawyer noted, as per CNN. (ANI)