The smoke billowed out at 11:50 am (local time) on Thursday after the morning voting session to elect a successor to Pope Francis to lead the 1.4 billion-member church

With no one securing the necessary two-thirds majority, or 89 votes, the 133 cardinals will return to the Vatican residences where they are being sequestered

They will have lunch and then return to the Sistine Chapel for the afternoon voting session. Two more votes are possible Thursday

Some of the 133 voting cardinals had said they expected a short conclave to replace Pope Francis. But it will likely take a few rounds of voting for one man to secure the two-thirds majority, or 89 ballots, necessary to become the 267th pope

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the 70-year-old secretary of state under Francis and a leading contender to succeed him as pope, assumed leadership of the proceedings as the most senior cardinal under age 80 eligible to participate

Outside in St. Peter`s Square, the atmosphere was festive as thousands of people flocked to the piazza to watch the proceedings on giant video screens, applauding when the Sistine Chapel`s doors slammed shut and the voting began

The cardinals were sequestered from the outside world, their cellphones surrendered and airwaves around the Vatican jammed to prevent all communications until they find a new pope

Francis named 108 of the 133 "princes of the church," choosing many pastors in his image from far-flung countries like Mongolia, Sweden and Tonga that had never had a cardinal before

His decision to surpass the usual limit of 120 cardinal electors has both lengthened the amount of time it takes for each vote to be processed and injected more uncertainty into a process that is always full of mystery and suspense