Reason why you see smoke when a new pope is elected and what the different colours mean

After the death of Pope Francis this week, there will be a series of protocols carried out, which includes the use of smoke.

The Catholic Church shared a statement confirming the death of Pope Francis, 88, on Monday morning (21 April).

At the time, Cardinal Kevin Farrell of the Vatican addressed the people and shared the life and death of the Catholic Church’s leader.

He said: "At 7.35 this morning, the bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of his church."

Farrell added: "He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with faithfulness, courage, and universal love, especially for the poorest and most marginalised."

Pope Francis died on 21 April (Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

Following his death Catholics entered a nine-day period of official mourning, which traditionally occurs before the process of choosing another pope.

Choosing a new pope is a very secretive thing but some details of the process are known, and coloured smoke is used to signify two different meanings.

The papal conclave is the official process to choose a new pope, and is usually held between 15 and 20 days after the pope's death.

At this point, the College of Cardinals will gather in Rome and will see around 250 cardinals from more than 90 countries attend, with 135 are cardinal electors on hand to vote, as any over the age of 80 cannot make the choice.

At this point, they will cast a vote which could be four times each day until two thirds of the group agree to the follower of Pope Francis.

The men will be summoned to Rome to prepare for the secret conclave inside the Sistine Chapel where they will do so in private rooms in the Domus Marthae Sanctae.

During this time, they are cut off from the outside world so that they can focus and reflect on the Vatican’s future leader.

To keep the secrecy of the votes, after each is cast, the ballots are burned and smoke is released from the Sistine Chapel's chimney.

While this is happening, passersby might see black smoke or white smoke - and both have very important meanings.

Black smoke billows from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on 13 March, 2013 (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

If the Chapel releases black smoke, which is called fumata nera in Italian, it means that there has been an inconclusive vote among the Cardinals.

Of course, a new pope needs to be chosen, so if they do not reach a vote, they will need to suspend voting after three days of being unable to agree and then reflect some more on a person who could replace the pope before the next round of ballots are cast.

If white smoke (fumata bianca) is seen coming out of the Chapel's chimney, this means that a new pope has been chosen, and he will soon begin the process to take over and attend the ceremony announcing his title.

Once the College of Cardinals elects a new pope, they will be asked if they would like to accept their baptismal name in the Sistine Chapel.

As per history over the last 470 years, each pope has changed their name to either honour a predecessor or to show that they will embody that person.

Then, they’ll step onto the central balcony at St. Peter's Basilica to bless the crowd there after being introduced with, ‘Habemus papam’, which is Latin for ‘we have a pope’.

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