Black smoke seen emanating from Sistine Chapel, no pope elected

UPDATE (12:49 PM): Black smoke was seen emanating from the Sistine Chapel chimney Wednesday evening. This means no new pope was elected in the first and only ballot at the Papal Conclave.

The result was expected as no pope has been elected on the first day of a conclave for centuries.

Going forward, there will be two votes daily as the conclave continues until a new pope is elected by a two-thirds majority becoming the 267th pontiff.

At that point, white smoke with rise from the chimney and bells will sound at the Vatican and the 1.4-billion-member church will have a new leader.

VATICAN CITY (CNN, KYMA/KECY) - The highly-secretive process to elect the next pope is underway in Vatican City Wednesday.

The conclave began with Holy Mass inside the Vatican, and a procession of Cardinals through St. Peter's Basilica.

They will have lunch in the Pauline Chapel, and then move to the Sistine Chapel in the afternoon. This is where 133 cardinals will be sequestered without cellphones to vote on the late Pope Francis' successor.

To win the role as the next head of the Catholic Church, a candidate needs two-thirds of the tallies.

If that doesn't happen, the church will burn the ballots inside a cast-iron stove with a chemical that sends black smoke up a chimney atop the Sistine Chapel.

When the next pope is chosen, the smoke will be white.

Shortly after the white smoke, the new pope will make a public appearance, and deliver a blessing and his first speech.