The wait continues. This Thursday, a thick column of black smoke rose again from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, a sign that the 133 cardinals gathered in conclave have not yet reached the necessary consensus to elect the new pope, successor of the charismatic Francis.

The black smoke, which emerged after the second and third rounds of voting, was received with a mixture of applause, resignation and expectation by the thousands of faithful and tourists who have gathered in St. Peter's Square. "I don't want them to rush, the important thing is that they make the best decision," said Barbara Mason, a 50-year-old Canadian who traveled especially to witness this historic moment.

The conclave, which began Wednesday afternoon, is being held under strict rules of secrecy. The cardinals, all under 80 years of age, remain isolated from the outside world, without telephones, and under oath not to reveal anything about the process, under penalty of excommunication. Voting takes place in the Sistine Chapel, under Michelangelo's frescoes, where each cardinal casts his vote in a silver urn. The ballots are then burned in an antique stove, together with chemical compounds that make it possible to distinguish whether the smoke is black (there is no pope) or white (there is a new pontiff).

This conclave is the largest and most diverse in the history of the Church: cardinals from nearly 70 countries are participating, many of them appointed by Francis himself, who died on April 21 at the age of 88. The Argentine pope left a legacy of openness, defense of migrants, attention to the environment and an effort to bring the Church closer to the marginalized.

However, the future of that legacy is at stake. In the deliberations, according to experts, progressive and conservative visions clash. While some purpurates want to give continuity to Francis' reformist line, others yearn for a more doctrinaire and traditional leadership.

In this context, there is no clear favorite. More than a dozen names are circulating, including the Italian Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Hungarian Peter Erdo and the Sri Lankan Malcolm Ranjith. Among the faithful, there are also marked sympathies: Paolo Cabrera, a 40-year-old Filipino who camped early in the square along with his wife Cynthia, expressed his hope that Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle will be elected. "But we will be happy with whoever God has appointed," he added.

The election of a new pope is not only an internal matter for the Vatican. The world is waiting for signs about the direction to be taken by an institution facing enormous challenges: from the credibility crisis over sexual abuse, to the fall in Mass attendance in the West, to the tension between the Church's values and global cultural changes.

In 2005, Benedict XVI was elected in four ballots. In 2013, Francis was chosen in the fifth round. If there is no pope this Thursday, the cardinals are called to vote up to four more times on Friday.

As Colombian Juan Benitez, 37, also present in the square, noted, "The Church has many divisions between liberals and conservatives, divisions that should not exist, because I believe the Church is universal."

Meanwhile, the world looks towards the small Vatican chimney, hoping that soon the white smoke will rise and a new voice will pronounce the traditional "Habemus Papam".

With information from AFP