By Bill Heaney
Black smoke has again billowed from a chimney on top of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City.
That signalled the cardinals locked in a conclave have not yet chosen a new pope to guide the Roman Catholic Church.
The cardinals held an initial inconclusive vote on Wednesday evening and two more votes on Thursday morning as thousands of faithful again gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
They are scheduled to hold up to two more ballots on Thursday afternoon, with possible smoke signals expected some time after 5:30 p.m. (1530 GMT).
They will keep on voting up to four times a day until someone wins a two-thirds majority.
No pope in modern times has been elected on the first attempt, so Wednesday’s black smoke was widely expected. But given recent history, a final result is possible from the second day.
Francis, the first pope from Latin America, was elected on the evening of the second day of the last conclave, held in 2013, as was his predecessor, Benedict XVI, in 2005.