VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Thick black smoke billowed into the night sky from the Sistine Chapel’s chimney on Tuesday, signalling an inconclusive first vote in the conclave to elect a new pope at a time of strife and scandal for the Roman Catholic Church.

Thousands of faithful huddled in St. Peter’s Square to watch the smoke pour out of the narrow flue in the rain-laden gloom following a day rich in ritual and pageantry.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Red-robed cardinals retreated behind the heavy wooden doors of the Sistine Chapel on Tuesday at the start of a conclave that will elect a new pope to tackle the strife and scandal rocking the Roman Catholic Church.

Latin chants and organ music accompanied the cardinals as they processed into the room, with Michelangelo’s depiction of Christ delivering the Last Judgment on the back wall and his image of the hand of God giving life to Adam on the ceiling.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Roman Catholic cardinals prayed for divine help on Tuesday, hours before a conclave to elect a new pope to tackle the daunting problems facing the Church at one of the most difficult periods in its history.

The cardinals, including the 115 aged under 80 who will vote for the next pope, filed into St. Peter’s Basilica as choirs sang at the ritual solemn Mass that precedes a conclave.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Roman Catholic cardinals gather under the gaze of Michelangelo’s “Last Judgment” on Tuesday to elect a new pope to tackle the daunting problems facing the 1.2-billion-member Church at one of the most difficult periods in its history.

The 115 cardinal electors aged under 80 began moving early on Tuesday into the Vatican’s Santa Martha hotel, where they will live during the conclave, which starts in the afternoon.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Roman Catholic cardinals gather under the gaze of Michelangelo’s “Last Judgment” on Tuesday to elect a new pope to tackle the daunting problems facing the 1.2-billion-member Church at one of the most difficult periods in its history.

The 115 cardinal electors aged under 80 began moving early on Tuesday into the Vatican’s Santa Martha hotel, where they will live during the conclave, which starts in the afternoon.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Roman Catholic Cardinals prayed on Sunday for spiritual guidance ahead of a closed-door conclave to choose a new pope to lead the Church at one of the most difficult periods in its history.

Cardinals will hold a final pre-conclave meeting on Monday to discuss the state of their Church, left reeling by the abdication last month of Pope Benedict and struggling to deal with a string of sexual abuse and corruption scandals.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Roman Catholic Cardinals prayed on Sunday for spiritual guidance ahead of a closed door conclave to choose a new pope to lead the Church at one of the most difficult periods in its history.

Cardinals will hold a last pre-conclave meeting on Monday to fine-tune a job description for the man they think would be best-suited to lead a Church hit by sexual abuse scandals around the world as well as allegations of corruption in the Vatican itself.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Vatican officials on Wednesday told cardinals gathered for the election of the next pope to stop speaking to the media, as further indications emerged that a conclave would not start early next week as had been expected.

American cardinals who had been scheduled to hold their third media briefing in as many days canceled it less than an hour before it was to have started at Rome’s North American College, where they are residing.