Seagull, smoke and choice of Pope: All the secrets of the furnace that declares a new chief chief …

In the coming days, the eyes of the whole world will again be on one, seemingly ordinary but symbolic most powerful chimney on the planet – one that rises over the Sistine chapel, the announcer of fateful decisions and the sign of a new era in the Catholic Church.

A well-known chimney, almost 30 meters high, is composed of two parts: the lower part makes up 32 pipes, while the finishing, imposing copper-vulnerable tube of 20 meters breaks to the roof of the chapel, ready to spit out once again that will stop the breath of millions of believers around the world.

Today’s system, hidden behind the thick walls of the Vatican, is based on cast iron stove, for the first time used back in 1939 for the choice of Pius XII. Since then, the furnace has « swallowed » the ballots seven times and threw out signs of fate: 1958 for John XXIII., 1963 For Paul VI., In the dramatic double conclave 1978 for the short -lived Ivan Paul I and his successor John Paul II, then in 2005 for Benedict XVI and 2013. These dates, engraved by Roman numbers at the top of the furnace, are quietly testifying to the history that is written there.

But few know exactly what’s going on under that holy chimney. It’s not just about the slips up. The secret is in chemistry. When the Cardinals finally choose the pope, the leaves are burned with the addition of metals like zinc and sulfur, creating a white, thick smoke – a sign that the new chief of the church was chosen. When the choice collapses, the smoke remains black because then carbon materials like wood are fallen, creating dark joints that signal that the world has to wait.

The smoke that the world looks at with raised glances actually comes from two stoves hidden inside the Sistine chapel. They are about 3.2 meters high, each with double openings: the lower fire, the upper for the holy « material » – the electoral leaves and the chemical mixtures that determine the color of the smoke.

And it’s not just a smoke that creates a drama. During the last conclave in 2013, just after black smoke came out of the chimney, a white seagull landed on his tip. The symbol of hope and the sign of heaven, many said then. Just hours later, the thick white smoke filled the Roman sky and Pope Francis entered the balcony of the basilica.