Thursday (May 8) marks the second day of the conclave, a secret process where Catholic cardinals gather to elect a new pope.
Two days in, and three votes have already taken place with black smoke billowing out of the Sistine Chapel each time, which indicates the 133 voting cardinals have not agreed on who the next pope should be, the predecessor to the late Pope Francis, who passed away on Easter Monday.
For a new pope to be elected, there must be a two-thirds majority, and once this has been achieved, white smoke will emerge from the Sistine Chapel.
There's no telling how long this process will take. In the past, it once took the conclave 3 years to decide the Pope.
The whole thing has taken the internet by storm, particularly since it has occurred at a time when a film aptly titled Conclave (2024) was made about the secretive process, starring Ralph Fiennes, Isabella Rossellini, Stanley Tucci, and John Lithgow.
A dedicated account called "Pope Crave", a spin on the pop culture X account "Pop Crave", has even been created to provide updates on the ongoing vote.
Here is a round-up of the best memes and reactions
"Mood today," one person posted, with a Miranda Cosgrove meme edited so she's dressed as a cardinal.
A second person wrote: "Shoutout to that one seagull locked in on the Conclave proceedings."
"Big fan of Cardinal Pizzaballa pulling a Mr Bean during the Conclave," a third person posted.
A fourth person pondered: "Do you think the cardinals watched conclave together and were pointing at the screen going 'that one's you.'"
"Getting fomo from the conclave," someone else shared.
"THE DIVAS ARE SEQUESTERED," the account Pope Crave announced.
Another user asked: "Do you think there’s an amount of money the Vatican would accept to let you use the Conclave chimney to do a gender reveal."
"Reports coming in that the swimsuit portion of the conclave has just concluded and that the talent portion is now under way."
"Waiting for the white smoke like...." an X, formerly Twitter user added.
Elsewhere, more black smoke signals: It once took conclave 3 years to decide Pope, and Conclave views rocket after Pope's death but what's fact and fiction?
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