The death or resignation of a pope starts a conclave, a centuries-old ritual of electing a successor that involves sacred ...

Vatican City — The death of a pope starts a centuries-old ritual involving sacred oaths by the cardinals electing a successor ...

The death or resignation of a pope starts a conclave, a centuries-old ritual of electing a successor that involves sacred ...

the piercing of ballots with a needle and thread after they’re counted, and then burning them to produce either the white or black smoke to signal if there’s a new leader for the world’s 1.3 ...

the piercing of ballots with a needle and thread after they're counted, and then burning them to produce either the white or black smoke to signal if there's a new leader for the world's 1.3 ...

the piercing of ballots with a needle and thread after they’re counted, and then burning them to produce either the white or black smoke to signal if there’s a new leader for the world’s 1.3 ...

As "Conclave" shows, those ballots are sewn together with a needle and thread, and then burned with a chemical to send either black smoke, meaning a stalemate, or white, signifying "habemus papam ...