Shortly before the group of cardinals elected in a new Catholic leader following Pope Francis’s death on Easter Monday, something unexpected showed up on the roof top, sparking a strange conspiracy theory.
As the world watched and waited while the Vatican went through the age-old process of choosing a new pope, black smoke could be seen again from the chimney earlier today (8 May).
This happens after Catholics enter their nine-day period of official mourning, and then the Cardinals begin to choose a new pope.
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Choosing a new pope is very secretive, but there is something that people now know about - the smoke.
The papal conclave (the pope choosing process) happens between 15 and 20 days after the pope's death, which will see the College of Cardinals gather in Rome and put in their votes.
Their vote will ensure that someone takes over the role that Pope Francis held for so long.
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The men will be summoned to Rome and are then held in private rooms in the Domus Marthae Sanctae, totally cut off from the outside world as to not mess with their focus.
After they put forward their ballots, they are then burned, and smoke is released from the Sistine Chapel's chimney.
Depending on which colour, it can either be a good thing or bad thing.
If the Chapel releases black smoke, (fumata nera in Italian) it means that there has been an inconclusive vote among the Cardinals. If white smoke (fumata bianca) is seen coming out of the Chapel's chimney, this means that a new pope has been chosen.
Oddly, black smoke was seen at the Chapel just before the infamous white smoke appeared - meaning a new pope has officially been elected today - sparking confusion.
Anyway, while all of this was happening, a special guest showed up on the Sistine Chapel roof which left people shocked.
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It also sparked off theories about why it’s there.
The guest in question was a bird - well, a seagull, which led to people to rush to social media to figure out what was going on.
At first, people talked about their confusion, with one X user penning: "This seagull on the roof of the Sistine Chapel just casually waiting for the smoke to come out of the chimney lmao the only highlight of the conclave." But then it took a turn.
People began to speculate that it was a spy.
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One person shared a graphic of a robotic pigeon which was fitted with a microphone and the works to collect intel, and another simply claimed: “They're CIA drones trying to listen in on the conclave.”
Another user agreed, stating: “The conclave Seagull is a drone.”
As someone else wrote: “They're watching.”
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So, could it be true?
Well, according to the CIA, there are such things as real-life spy birds, which have helped Agency officers to perform ‘eavesdropping, intelligence gathering, security, covert communications, and photo surveillance’. However, a seagull? Sure, it would be inconspicuous, but there have always been seagulls there.
Let’s leave the conspiracies to the internet.
Topics: News, Pope Francis, Social Media, World News
Britt Jones