The cardinals responsible for electing a new pope are locked inside the Sistine Chapel, Rome, for the secret ballot.
Black smoke means more voting will take place tomorrow, white means there is a new pope.
Before the doors shut, cardinals took an oath in which they promised to keep secret all matters related to the vote and that whoever is elected will faithfully carry out the role.
They will now have no communication with the outside world until a new pope is elected, meaning the conclave has officially begun.
There was only one round of voting in the afternoon today, but if a decision is not made, the cardinals vote up to four times every day afterwards.
Because a new pope requires a two-thirds majority, the process can take some time, although the last two conclaves concluded by the end of day two.
To cast their vote, each cardinal casts their vote on a card that says in Latin “I elect as Supreme Pontiff” alongside the name of their chosen candidate.
They walk in order of their seniority to place their cards inside the large silver and gilded urn.
Meanwhile, there is a selection of names being mentioned as the late Pope Francis’s potential successor:
*Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson was the first Ghanaian to be made a cardinal, back in 2003 under Pope John Paul II, and was made favourite by bookmakers ahead of voting in 2013 when Pope Francis was instead selected.
*Softly spoken Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin was the Vatican’s Secretary of State under Pope Francis – making him the Pope’s chief adviser. The Secretary of State also heads the Roman Curia, the Church’s central administration.
*Could Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle become the first Asian Pope? The Church is massively influential in the Philippines, where about 80% of the population is Catholic and the country currently has a record five members of the College of Cardinals – which could make for a significant lobbying faction.
*It’s very possible the next pope could be from Africa, where the Catholic Church continues to add millions of members. Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu is a leading candidate, hailing from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where he has been Archbishop of Kinshasa for seven years.
