one, cardinal seen as a moderate a bit more centrist than cardinal scherrer. the other is that cardinal braz is close to the catholic movement, a movement born in italy, during the chaos of the second world war. emphasizing unity formed by a labor man. the only movement in the church whose constitutions mandate the president must be a woman. it's an effective movement at promoting unity and a church struggling with internal divisions. >> an important moment to those watching around the world now, this is the last cardinal. >> an american, cardinal james javy. >> taking the oath. and this is the last act of the conclave that the publics a howed to see. let listen as it's about to begin. >> feel the need to go to confession during the conclave, there are peeriests there available to do it for them. >> passionists with the passionist sign. >> the vice director of the press office. >> what is this vestment? with the hat? with the feather? >> it's a swiss guard. >> is there a specific name for that so i don't get it wrong? >> in the color coding of the catholic chu

>> reporter: from the time a cardinal becomes a cardinal, the race for pope is on. they are judged on their intellectual, religious and spiritual heft, even their ability to communicate in italian. politicking done, support secured in formal settings and often in out of the way and unlikely venues. this is benevina restaurant, just around the corner from the vatican. cardinals come here in the ones and twos, they have lunch, dinners, sometimes little wine. nz places like this that a lot of the heavy lifting is done. venedina lavate has served meals to powerful vatican insiders for 25 years. "dozens of cardinals have been here the last couple weeks," she says. "when you're at the table, you decide things." deciding important for many reasons, as one cardinal jokingly told her during his last meal here, when the conclave is under way, it is bread and water until a new pope is named. it is hard to get a decent meal, apparently, once they get locked down into the conclave. they will be in the sistine chapel around 4:30 local, 11:30 eastern, and then we suspect that the

cardinal priests and then cardinal deacons. so seating arrangements are determined by your order. >> do the swiss guards stay? do they kind of keep everybody out? >> the night that benedict's papacy ended, formally at 8:00, one of the things that happened, the swiss guards left.because of the job of the swiss guards is to protect the governing authorities of the catholic church, ent during the interreg they hold the authority of the catholic church in their hands. >> and the next pope is in that room? >> their new boss is in that room. >> in all likelihood. doesn't have to be, but most certainly will be. >> that's correct. >> as they continue with what they're chanting before they begin with the hymn, i referred to the frescoes done by michelangelo. father beck, these men know the sistine chapel. they know the paintings and artwork that's in there. what do you think adds to the significance of what they said what's around them? >> i heard cardinals previously said when they go up there, they raise their ballot above their head

this was -- or cardinal mahony. this was in these lawsuits that they believed they had proof that showed that mahony knew what was going on with this father baker who was the accused in the lawsuit. not to drudge up the past. that's not the point of this question. the point is, he's in that conclave right now. you could argue that there is no bigger issue of public perception facing the catholic church in this one and lombardi came out, father lombardi, the vatican spokesperson, and said we have looked at it, we have reason to believe he belongs in the conclave, your reaction? >> well, you know, cardinal mahony has insisted from the very beginning of this controversy and not just the recent settlement but when the archdiocese released the files, his successor archbishop gomez publicly shamed him saying he had been relieved of all of his public responsibilities, when that broke cardinal mahony's argument was i made serious mistakes at the beginning of my tenure but at the end i had turned a corner and los angeles had

>> well, i think the world of of cardinal mahoney and of cardinal o'malley. they are all men of the church. and i think in many ways, the institutional church has invited people, throughout the years. and this is founded in christ and in others, that it was well documented with the founder that the church knew of these things and didn't want to talk about it and didn't want to say it because they wanted to protect the image of the church. the church needs to own up to what is going on. priests, in many parts of the world are frustrated. they don't see vatican two as something that is a priority anymore. it's something of the past. they would like to see more women in positions of leadership and see a church that speaks to the 21st century in a new way. that had not been happening. to deny that is to deny reality. the church is not opening up to the contemporary world. >> certainly transparency is something a lot of people talk about that they would like to see more from this vatican. >> granted. i think that certainly is true. every institution has dealt with

>> well, i think the world of of cardinal mahoney and of cardinal o'malley. they are all men of the church. i think the church invited people. this is well documented with the founder that the church knew of these things and didn't want to talk about it and didn't want to say it because they wanted to protect the image of the church. the church needs to own up to what is going on. priests, in many parts of the world are frustrated. they don't see vatican two as something that is a priority anymore. it's something of the past. they would like to see more women in positions of leadership and see a church that speaks to the 21st century in a new way. that had not been happening. to deny that is to deny reality. the church is not opening up to the contemporary world. >> certainly transparency is something a lot of people talk about that they would like to see more from this vatican. >> granted. i think that certainly is true. every institution has dealt with this issue. the statistics are 4% of priests. 96% did not abuse. in the general population, 4% abused. sho

because back here at home, certainly, the media has been talking about cardinal o'malley and cardinal dolan potentially being in the running, but they've also been getting some favorable press overseas. >> they really have. and especially the italians seem to be really fond of cardinal sean o'malley of boston. they like the fact that he is a monk. that he wears robes and sandals. they like his humble presence, and they seem to think that might be a good option for the next pope. let me talk about some other people who are getting a lot of play here. the italian newspapers speculate that the person going into the conclave with the most votes is cardinal scola, who is the archbishop of milan. but they say that he is far short of the 77 votes needed the to become the next pope. other people being talked about, cardinal scherra, who is the archbishop of sao paulo, the largest catholic diocese in the world. mark ouellet, the former archbishop of quebec. he is now based here in the vatican. he is the head of the congregation of bishops. and along with cardinal dolan from new york and cardin

cardinal marc ouellet, cardinal scherer. but we should say, there are only 115 people who actually have the answer to the question that son the front of all of our brains. we'll find out soon enough, chris. >> right. so father beck, as a priest, when you see this, the beautiful news for you as a believer, you have a new pope, you have a new father. this point of the conclave, what does it make you think about who your next leader, what type of person they will be? >> obviously a wonderful, historical moment. i'm getting tweets and e-mails already from people, who is it, who is it? i'm trying to respond toin my o way. cardinal scola has been listed as a front-runner. they're calling him the reformer candidate. i don't see it that way. i see him as a traditional candidate. this would be a return to an italian pope. this is a cardinal ratzinger conservative theologian, so for me, that says a return to tradition, traditional catholicism. for me, the reformer pope would be, who they're calling the traditionalist, cardinal o'malle

the cab drivers are rooting for cardinal o'malley or cardinal dolan. >> when the new pope is chosen you can be among the first to know. the website popealarm.com is promising to send an e-mail or text to anyone who signs up. there, once again, evidence that we are in a completely different era. this time around when it comes to this pope election. >> you have to wonder too, after they take that vote -- obviously no one expects them to get it on the first try. the black smoke yesterday was not a surprise. i wonder, haven't heard this yet, what goes on in between the votes. are they sitting down politicking, or taking each other off to the side to build factions. i wonder what those conversations are like. >> are they praying, isolating themselves and praying for god to give them the sign? it is hard to know. even before they went in there was little speak of what happened once they're inside except for the fact that we were told you are not allowed to politic for yourself. you are not allowed to talk directly to the person you think will be the next pope. interesting to see what is happe

and one of the groups is the can cardinal deacons and cardinal tauran is first among the cardinal deacons. he has the honor of making the official announcement. he will say, i have news of great joy to announce. then he will say, habemus papam. then he will say the name of the pope. he did that eight years ago also. he made that announcement for pope benedict. that's the next thing that happens here. then the pope himself will come out and pronounce a blessing over the crowd, over the two city and the whole world. ? listening to other comments and watching the flags, i saw a polish flag there as well. i couldn't help but think of john paul ii. what an impression he made, the very first moment he made coming out on to that balcony. he broke from tradition and instead of just giving blessing, he gave a couple words off the cuff. he told everyone not to be afraid. open their hearts. >> here we go. >> looks like the doors will be open. >> let's listen in. >> as you see on your television screen, there is hand on the handle of the door. we are simply waiting for that door to open. the protodea

>> normally it would be cardinal sodano doing what cardinal ray is doing right now but the cardinal is over the voting age so he won't be allowed in the conclave. so i believe cardinal ray is the highest ranking cardinal bishop under the age of 80 if you can follow what that means. so he is playing sort of the emcee right now. rick: lauren, i was reading that it used to be that popes were elected and that the people, catholics, had a say in who the next pope would be. over the years the rules have changed and obviously now it is just these cardinals who will elect the new pope but i'm wondering as you walk the streets of rome and talk to people on the ground there, catholics who are here, who have come from all over to welcome the new pope once his name is finally announced what have you heard from the faithful in terms of what they would like to see in the next pope? what kind of qualities? >> reporter: well, one of the things i heard from a couple of different people is that, you know, perhaps they should go back to the people electing the holy father. they want a say in how they cho

and a brief prayer in the sistene chapel with the cardinal electors, as long as the top ranking cardinal deck k keekkee keeken-- deacon is not the chosen man, he will announce it to the world and the pope will come on the balcony and give a short speech. and father morris says he we should see the smoke, whether it's black or white, within the next 45 minutes. told you what happened yesterday, and it it did, yesterday the smoke was black. we'll see whether they come up with a new pope today. stay with us and back to rome the moment it happens. exciting, isn't it? well, in another news. we're learning about a new challenge for the president's health care law, an application that runs 21 pages for the online version, over a dozen steps, some that have added questions. it's described as about as complex as doing your taxes and that's only the first part of the process toward getting your new obamacare health insurance. trace gallagher has more from our west coast news room, trace. >> reporter: if i can, megyn, take you back to when then speaker nancy pelosi said this about obamacare. >> we

cardinals. we're live in new york's famous saint patrick's cathedral when the fox report returns tonight live from rome. 4g, huh? verizon 4g lte. 700 megahertz spectrum, end-to-end, pure lte build. moe most consistent speeds indoors or out. and, obviously, astonishing throughput. obviously... you know how fast our home wifi is? yeah. this is basically just as fast. oh. and verizon's got more fast lte coverage than all other networks combined. oh, why didn't you just say that? huh-- what is he doing? bikes and balloons, wholesome noodles on spoons. a kite, a breeze, a dunk of grilled cheese. catches and throws, and spaghettio's. that's what happy kids are made of. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. >> shepard: some of the top cardinals from the united states expressing their congratulations and blessings for pope francis and the future of the church of the 115 cardinal electors in the vatican. 11 of them are american. including sean cardinal o'malley from boston. earlier today, cardinal o

to see me be made a cardinal. give it to the poor. >> about 50% of the world's catholics live in latin america. >> it will be received with huge delight in latin america. i don't think that is a primary concern of the cardinals. i think that what has really -- has probably persuaded most of them that bergoglio is the right man is he is a man who is -- whose personal authenticity, his -- whose personal authenticity is absolutely overwhelming. you may disagree with his views, his theology, he is quite conservative in terms of his moral views and his dogma, but he is a person who -- i don't think there is any doubt he is a person who is absolutely authentic in his location. -- location. as -- vocation. >> is this surprise you -- does this surprise you? , it does. i thought -- we just saw a pope resign because he said he was not up to the challenges of the job. his physicals ranks was not -- physical strength was not up to it. with the goalie of being elected -- with bergoglio being elected, how many years of good hea

cardinal bishops, cardinal priests and the cardinal deacons. and when that bank of three cardinals that counts the votes, this is the form they use to put check marks next to everyone's name to get a final count at the end. what you have to imagine, chris, in the mind's eye, the first name in 2005 was cardinal joseph ratzinger. by the end, by the fateful fourth ballot, the check marks would have reached all the way down this line back to the top he was elected as we understand with more than 100 of those 117 votes. >> reason that pope benedict and joseph ratzinger, once again, would have been at the top, not because of preference, except that he was the dean of cardinals. so it would have made sense to put him first? >> that's right. he was the senior cardinal in the order of bishops. that's why his name came first. the point is, chris, going into that conclave, i think there was a universal consensus that joseph ratzinger was the front-runner. the problem is, this time, we don't have a clear front-runner. >> part of that, you're explaining to

>> well, i think the world of of cardinal mahoney and of cardinal o'mall o'malley. they are all men of the church. i think the church invited people. this is well documented with the founder that the church knew of these things and didn't want to talk about it and didn't want to say it because they wanted to protect the image of the church. the church needs to own up to what is going on. priests, in many parts of the world are frustrated. they don't see vatican two as something that is a priority anymore. it's something of the past. they would like to see more women in positions of leadership and see a church that speaks to the 21st century in a new way. that had not been happening. to deny that is to deny reality. the church is not opening up to the contemporary world. >> certainly transparency is something a lot of people talk about that they would like to see more from this vatican. >> granted. i think that certainly is true. every institution has dealt with this issue. the statistics are 4% of priests. 96% did not abuse. in the general population, 4% abused. sho

the third cardinal in line is cardinal raymond park, one of the two wisconsin natives. >> swiss cardinal crock who runs the pontifical council for promoting christianity. >> we should note the combinations have improved over the next couple of conclaves. it used to be a spartan number of people between the votes. >> it's a guest house. >> it's not very plush but it's better than living in jury rigged rooms with cots which used to be the arrangement in the apostolic palace. they would cut it up into little cubicles. if you got the one without a bath one without a bathroom. >> the conclaves of 1978, that was not that long ago. >> as we heard, no phones, no faxes, no e-mail. they will be cut off from the rest of the world. clearly they live in a world of social media which wasn't really much of a big deal eight years ago. they know what's been said about the church, the challenges. they've discussed them themselves. now they're in the sistine chapel and they are truly on their own. >> father barron, i talked to you about this the other day, but i think it's important to stress. this is the

the romans appear to be coalescing not around an italian cardinal, but around cardinal brazil. the reformers are actually set to be backing an italian, cardinal angela scola of o milan. while openly campaigning for pope is frowned upon, both men made closely watched appearances at churches on sunday. another contender, an american, cardinal timothy dolan of new york, also greeted well wishers at the local church he's affiliated with here in rome. the u.s. has the second biggest voting bloc of cardinals behind the italians. the next pope could also be a cardinal from ghana who works in the vatican but comes from a continent that has seen an explosion in catholicism over the last few decades. complete discretion surrounds the entire voting process. beyond the cardinals, an oath of secrecy was taken monday by other priests on hand to aid in the vote. the swiss guard, the vatican police, even the cooks and cleaning staff. and once the pope is elected, he'll go here to the room of tears. the vatican released rare footage of this chamber where the pontiff dons his papal robe for the

the romans appear to be coalescing not around an italian cardinal, but around cardinal odilo pedro sherer, from brazil. the reformers are actually set to be backing an italian, cardinal angela scola of o milan. while openly campaigning for pope is frowned upon, both men made closely watched appearances at churches on sunday. another contender, an american, cardinal timothy dolan of new york, also greeted well wishers at the local church he's affiliated with here in rome. the u.s. has the second biggest voting bloc of cardinals behind the italians. the next pope could also be a cardinal from ghana, peter turkson, who works in the vatican but comes from a continent that has seen an explosion in catholicism over the last few decades. complete discretion surrounds the entire voting process. beyond the cardinals, an oath of secrecy was taken monday by other priests on hand to aid in the vote. the swiss guard, the vatican police, even the cooks and cleaning staff. and once the pope is elected, he'll go here to the room of tears. the vatican released rare footage of this chamber where the pontif

the romans appear to be coalescing not around an italian cardinal but around a cardinal from brazil. openly campaigning for pope is frowned upon. both men made closely watched appearances in churches in rome on sunday. another contender, an american, timothy dolan of new york, greeted well wishers at the local church he's affiliated with in rome. the u.s. is the second biggest voting bloc of cardinals behind the italians. the next pope could also be a cardinal from ghana who works in the vatican but comes from a continent that has seen an explosion in catholicism over the last few decades. complete discretion surrounds the entire voting process. beyond the cardinals, an oath of secrecy was taken monday by other priests on hand to aid in the vote. the swiss guard, the vatican police, even the cooks and cleaning staff. once the pope is elected, he will go here to the room of tears. the vatican released rare footage of this chamber where the pontiff dons his papal robe for the first time because no one can predict who will be chosen, three robe sizes have been prepared to ensure that wh

nobody is trying to say that cardinal o'malley from boston or cardinal dolan are front-runners. having said that, i think some weeks ago, right when pope benedict decided to step down. it would have been almost totally discounted. and so there has been a little bit of a change, and if there is sort of one feeling, it's that if this happens quickly, it will be someone who is more expected. for example, the archbishop of milan, cardinal scola. if it goes on a while and they can't seem to coalesce around one or two candidates early on, it does open up the possibility of a north american pope. possibly a latin american or an african pope. so we'll have to see the way it plays out. i think the length of the conclave could start to give us some indication of how things are going. >> chris jansing and father john. thank you very much. i know you're going to be there throughout the hour, throughout the day until we see some smoke and until they complete their deliberations today, we'll get back to you the moment anything happens, thank you both. >>> meanwhile, here in washington on capi

cardinals were there together, praying together, and cardinal sodanal focused on the most important things. he said, the new pope has to be is a man of great faith, has to be a man that can be a foundation of unity for the church, and has to be able to communicate and live the message of love. and i think that's what the cardinals are thinking. they're thinking about the big things, the important things. >> we were talking a little earlier in the program, liz, to a couple of american who is just happened to be here, and so decided to cancel all their sightseeing and they're just going to it what for the smoke. but they were saying they were at the mass this morning and they felt sort of the seriousness of it. you know, we've been talking a lot about the inside baseball, but you have to think, that especially for the 67, the majority of them have never done this before and really don't know exactly what to expect. >> i was thinking, there must be a few butterflies in there. this is such a momentous occasion. a sense of nervousness and knowing that what they will do in these next few

cardinal anglo sodano, dean of the college of cardinals, used his homily to deliver an appeal for unity and not so thinly veiled reference to increasingly public differences among the princes of the church. a cardinal who took part in the last conclave said taking the oath of secrecy in front of michaelangelo's fresco of the last judgment was "almost overwhelming." the practice of only cardinals electing a pope began in 1056. >> extra ominous. exit everyone. >> reporter: locking them in came 200 years later to help speed up the process. but there is no campaigning inside the sistine chapel according to respected author father thomas reese. >> all the discussion, all the debate, that happens outside the chapel. in the chapel it's an atmosphere of prayer, it's a silence except when they're counting the votes. >> reporter: the first full day of voting begins tomorrow. ballots will be burned twice a day until someone achieves a two-thirds majority-- a minimum of 77 votes. today's vote was the equivalent of a primary. in the next round, the cardinals will get down to narrowing the lists to t

then john, the cardinals go back home. do they go back home to their respective countries and cities with a mandate from the new pope or does that come later? >> they come back with a mandate. they'll be expected to pass along the message he's given. if the pope says i want you to go forth and evangelize and bring more catholics into the flock, that will be the new buzzword. if he says it's time for hugh hugh mill -- humility, that's what they'll do. >> megyn: speak if you can about the support that the new pope will have. even though he's going to be the leader of the catholic church, he's just a man. and he needs help and assistance and he needs input from others. how does he create that group around him? >> i don't want to compare it but american viewers would understand when a new president is elected, the whole country is behind him. they say you're our new leader. we want to get along. this is a heavenly office but the new pope comes with a tremendous amount of goodwill behind him, from the cardinals, from all the bi

and cardinal soldano gave a homily. this is not about macnations this is about ultimately love putting that love into practice and called to the mission of what this is all about. >> the cardinals go into the sistine chapel this afternoon for the very first vote. why is it so secret? >> first of all, they are going for lunch and get a really good lunch. and then. >> put them in a good mood. >> a little siesta and then bused over some will walk if it doesn't rain and the first thing, they go to the pauline chapel, right opposite the sistine chapel and this is where the magnificent profession begins. many call us and say why do they wear red? u.s. a good question. not that they like to be seen in red. red is the color of marchtyrdom. the shiny red robes a reflection of blood. sometimes we're asked to give our blood. they go into the sistine chapel and the swearing of the oath. all tell twizevised and open to the public. >> i ask about secrecy, though. voting around the world, transparency. why such secrecy? >> the secrecy

cardinals are in the mix and could potentially be it, cardinal dolan and cardinal sean owe palelei. really who the next pope will be is anyone's guess. miguel marquez has glimpses of the american cardinals as well as a few other contenders. we heard about dolan and o'malley. who is on the short list? >> reporter: there are several cardinals from world the world. sha cardinal shearer from brazil and european cardinals are strong because fleury so many european cardinals and that's what we'll watch as this conclave gets under way. crunch time at the vatican, the chimney that will announce to the world whether there is a new pope placed atop the treasured 500-year-old sistine chapel. it is delicate work. upholding a tradition where white smoke billowing from the chimney signals a new pope has been named. >> last thing they want for the sistine chapel to turn into a smoke-filled room worth where michelangelo applied his hand. it does take time for the smoke to go from white to black. >> one of the bits of drama is the catholic church is imminently predictable events prize. you know what

could that many cardinal scherer of brazil. or cardinal ouellet of canada? two candidates who work in the vatican. >> looking for someone who has executive skills, someone who can talk about jesus with an mba. >> reporter: this is a historic election with the church at a crossroads, particularly in the united states. in fact, in a new abc news washington post poll, an overwhelming number of catholics disapprove of the church's handling of the sex abuse scandals. in addition to criticism shared worldwide of a corrupt vatican banking system. >> what is it that the church needs? where does the church need to go? >> reporter: one thing is certain. the race is wide open, with all eyes on that chimney as rome awaits tomorrow. of course no one can really predict who the pope will be, but whether it be a conservative, a reformer, an italian, a north american, latin american, african, one thing that all fangss can agree upon, according to the experts, is that age and stamina will be crucial factors come this election. so look for a pontiff in his 60s, young and spry

. >> you know, cardinal timothy dolan of new york is speaking to cardinals in rome. he was one of the 115 cardinals who selected this new pope. >> there are challenges. like the church in north america. but a church that is rich in its tradition, a church where catholicism is part of their dna. and a church that is growing and alive. and to think of the electricity that's going to send. can you imagine when pope francis goes for world youth day, which may probably be his first international trip in july to brazil. can you imagine the welcome he'll get, a pope from latin america. you can imagine the joy in our latin american brothers. i want to mention to you, as has been mentioned in the past, even though nationalality and geography is important, i think most cardinals just want to choose the right man. you know, you want a man of god. you want a man of good pastoral governance. you want a man with a sense of the church universal. you want a good communicator. and he fills those bills. where he comes from is gravy. and we've got a lot of good gravy with the man comin

the cardinals just held a special mass a few hours ago, as dave mentioned, the cardinals are currently in the pauline chapel. around 8:30 our time, there will be a procession from the pauline to the sistine chapel and then they will enter the sistine chapel, the doors will be shut and the conclave will officially begin. at 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m., there will be prayers and the cardinals could place their first vote. if a pope is not selected by 11:30 our time, they will head back to the residents and vote another day. as we go back out here live, it depends how long this will take. brian flores, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> 8:02. the long time tradition of picking a pope is getting a digital enhancement. logos bible software has developed a app that links you to the latest papal collection. users will get access to a twitter feed that details the selection process. the cardinals themselves will be completely cut off from all outside communication. they will have no telephone, no newspapers, no television and there will be no tweeting. stay with ktvu for continuing coverage of the start of

we know from cardinal dolan and some other cardinals that they have been getting to know each other. how much can they really talk about it before they go into the conclave? how specific can they get? >> i think there have been plenty of occasions both in these more formal meetings that have taken place and also there are plenty of informal dinners. one thing we know about rome, the way the whole city is structured, we can get a lot of business done while sitting in a villa overlooking a view of a city. so i think there's been a lot of getting to know one another in formal settings, but also a sense of much more that almost like sensory feeling of who you find attractive shall who you find someone who you would follow, who you see as someone that could lead. >> so i was inside the walls of the vatican museum today and different parts of the vatican, walking down from the papal apartments which are now closed off. i talked to one of the workmen who had just left the sistine chapel because they clean it, they actually get all the dust out before they, you know, let the cardinals go in.

there is one of the over 80 cardinals, a cardinal by the name of broke gieck who is givi them -- that may come into play in this conclave. i think going in, however, the more fundamental alliance or difference this time that the fault line so to speak would be between the vatican cardinals, those 38 cardinals who represent the bureaucracy of the vatican, and cardinals from many other parts of the world who frankly believe this place needs a dose of 21st century business management. >> so it is interesting, brooke, as i listen to the conversation, i've gotten the benefit of john -- everything i know that is right comes out of john allen's mouth. it is an interesting dynamic from this point forward because whether or not there is smoke tonight, whether or not they vote tonight, we do believe that judging from the general congregations there is enough on the table that this will take time, yes? >> i think it is exactly right. you and i have talked before, last time, eight years ago, when benedict was elected. i think there was a very simple logic to the conclave. the cardinals thought th

cardinal bergoglio will lead the world's catholics. you see a picture of all of the faithful who are waiting to see him. apparently somebody is coming out and we will see right now. cardinal bergoglio comes out. he has just been fitted with his people down and his people finery. he was the jesuits, as we understand, born in 1936. let's just listen in as the crop prepares. when that occurred splits and the brand new poll comes out who apparently, as we understand, is choosing the name of francis, there will be, we can pretty much anticipated, a message here. people have been waiting for days for that moment. at 2:05 p.m. eastern the official white smoke came out of the famed chimney in vatican city. we actually have some video of cardinal bergoglio, and we can show some of it so you can get an idea of who the next properly is. the second that curtain opens we will, of course, go right back to it. here he is. this is the file video of cardinal bergoglio of argentina. again, the first pontiff ever elected from the americas. 115 cardinals

australia, one cardinal there. chris talked about literally the open lobbying, if you will, from the people and even in some parts from cardinals themselves. this is really political and for people who believe it is all about religion, they would be mistaken here. >> indeed sometimes of course the conclave is compared to a political election. the big difference is here is that officially of can course, i can see smoke -- tamron i hear -- >> we see smoke. we hear cheers. it looks white. >> it is a huge cheer here. a roar of enthusiasm. white smoke. >> let's listen in, listen to the crowd. >> it is indeed white smoke. >> this is historic of course. >> historic, absolutely. go ahead. >> tamron, huge roar of enthusiasm. i'm sure you can hear that while houses of people here in st. peter's square, with umbrellas, this is what they are waiting for. white smoke. we have a pope. 45 minutes from now we expect the deacon of the cardinals to appear on that balcony to finally announce the name of the pope following the words u

cardinal timothy dolan of new york and cardinal sean o'malley of boston are thought to be on the short list of viable contenders, something experts told me was an absurd thought even two weeks ago. now, it's believed there will be a first vote tonight, though, and it's been mostly ceremonial in nature. those who are not serious contenders will get to hear their names aloud in the sistine chapel. now, if no consensus has been reached tonight, the ballots will be burned and that resu resulting black smoke will signal a second day of conclave to come tomorrow, george. >> certainly that will happen. okay, josh, thanks very much. >>> let's go to john muller. other developing stories right now. >>> good morning, everyone. >>> we begin with president obama's so-called charm offensive, the first of three trips this week to capitol hill all aimed at shoring up a budget deal. now, the president is hoping to get bipartisan agreement on deficit reduction but he is facing a new republican budget set to be released by paul ryan. it calls for deep spending cuts and a repeal of obama care. >>> well, s

the cardinals starts the day in part by celebrating mass in st. peter's and now after a morning of bowed head, outside all years looking up. watching. waiting. waiting for the smoke to pour from the chapel. black smokes means inconclusive smoke and white smoke signals one man what two-thirds of the vote and is named the new pope. who it will be is anyone's guess. how soon? everyone agrees it will not be today. >> i would be astonished it it is this time around, the biggest surprise since pope benedict resignation. and cardinal dolan said i guess well have a new successor by thursday evening. >> now we are watching closely the first sign of smoke expected to be visible in the next hour. back to you. >> in san francisco, archbishop led a special mass to pay tribute to the first day of the conclave. abc7 news reporter joins us with more. sue? >> no one is more anxious to know who the next pope will be than catholic faithful and while the cardinals entered the conclave, at st. mary's church goers are in prayer for what is to come. ♪ i confirm your a

cardinal angelo sodano the dean of the college of cardinals delivered today's sermon calling for unity in the church. it involves a series of votes that ends only when at least two-thirds of the cardinals agree on a single candidate. the event of course attracting catholics from all around the world. >> i don't know if we can time it just perfectly, but we would like to be here when the white smoke comes up. >> that smoke he is referring to is the traditional signal after each vote. black smoke indicates no decision has been made. white smoke is the sign that a new pope has been selected. the first puffs of smoke are expected to emerge today at noon here in the bay area. and some of the rumored front- runners include owe dill la scherer of brazil and angelo scola of italy and two americans may have a shot, sean o'malley and timothy dolan. bay area catholics are invited to a special mass for the election this morning. kpix 5 reporter cate caugiran is in san francisco with the latest. lots of people expected there. >> reporter: if it'sing in like last time when we were here -- if it's an

he was very close to cardinal ray. cardinal ray is the last one into the sistine chapel, 80 years old. the two of them are were running vet can business. and cardinal sole dan know soldano is a representative of vatan diplomacy and ideas that a structure can't be run on prayers and hopes and wishes. that kind of charismatic church, and even pope benedict understood this. a church requires planning, just like a university or television network. so soldano has a point. the problem is when you folk accuse too much on the institution, and lose sight of the spirituality, you can be in danger. >> shepard: their problems are very big. they have cardinals who are subject to blackmail, vulnerable to blackmail. scandals within the bank scandal. there is a sexual abuse of children scandal that seems to still be bubbling, that has been covered up for decades. it goes on and on. are these reformers of the mind to come in and say, here's what we have done, here's how we're going to fix this so we can move on? are or we going to rema

a bank of three cardinals counts, another bank of three cardinals confirms the count. that could be 40 minutes, that could be an hour or more depending on the rhythm of the procedure. it doesn't mean there's questions about the procedure. >> to be sure they're now going to a place where they can talk and get amongst themselves. certainly, father beck, they've got a lot to discuss, because this is something they really have to get right. >> they will do that at lunch. that's where the real conversation takes place. >> what do you think about this morning? that has the potential for somebody to lead us, they'll talk about all those things. don't forget, then someone takes a threaded needle, takes each vote, i vote, they put the threaded needle through, they bind it together and that's when they burn it. >> and now, as they go to lunch, they start talking, through three ballots, no panic, means nothing historically for them to not have a pope through three ballots, right? >> no. >> pope benedict was on the fourth ballot? >> the last previous time there was one time a pope

cardinal wurel and cardinal dolan and the u.s. bishops have been so forceful talking about secularism and its threats. in that message and the cardinal wuerl has been clear in this. the fact that we have surrendered to secularism and the culture in so many ways. when you say back to basics, i think you are absolutely right. i think that the message of pope francis today going forth is going to, to be continuous with pope benedict, who talked in the last days about encountering christ. engaging the culture. but it's also going to be, going to address the crisis that many catholics don't know and are not acting, living as we ought. not living radically different lives. pope francis obviously presented himself as something, with something radically different, something christian. something very franciscan, of course. >> bret: we have david kerr is back with us briefly. dade, the inauguration mass for pope francis is march 19. the feast of st. joseph, that in and of itself is significant. >> st. joseph is the patron of the universal c

in addition to cardinal dolan and cardinal

so the cab drivers are rooting for cardinal o'malley or cardinal dolan. >> everything's personal sometimes. okay, thanks so much. >> thanks, take care. >>> and we also want to tell you tonight about a sign of modern times. today we learned about a new service. it's called pope alarm.com. it promises to send you an e-mail or text when a new pope is named. promising, quote, when the smoke goes up, you'll know what's going down. >>> and be sure to watch our continuing special events coverage tomorrow right here on abc news. we will be standing by all day and bring it to you, the moment it happens. special coverage here on abc. >>> and now, more news back here at home. abc's george stephanopoulos sat down with president obama today for an exclusive interview. the president opening up about a story in the news that has touched him and his family. the first lady, along with other familiar names, appear to be the victims of a hack attack. abc's senior justice correspondent pierre thomas has been tracking this story all day. and brings us the latest. >> reporter: this sinister looking website is p

then john the cardinals go back home. do they go back home to their respective countries and cities with a mandate from the new pope or does that come later? >> they come back with a mandate. they'll be expected to pass along the message he's given. if the pope says i want you to go forth and evangelize and bring more catholics into the flock, that will be the new buzzword. if he says it's time for hugh hugh mill -- humility, that's what they'll do. >> megyn: speak if you can about the support that the new pope will have. even though he's going to be the leader of the catholic church, he's just a man. and he needs help and assistance and he needs input from others. how does he create that group around him? >> i don't want to compare it but american viewers would understand when a new president is elected, the whole country is behind him. they say you're our new leader. we want to get along. this is a heavenly office but the new pope comes with a tremendous amount of goodwill behind him from the cardinals from all the bish

>> well, the italian media has been widely reporting that the cardinals, the american cardinals have gained a lot of approval. since they have arrived here. they have staged briefings with the one from the press office which were much more informative. they showed an outreach approach that they wanted to open up the catholic church that many people see even the public, even the faithful see as still too medieval in a way. that was shown, of course, by last year by the scandal when those famous papers and documents were leaked from the papal apartments to the italian media. it showed a power struggle inside the church that this new reformers want to address. they want an open church. with the open attitude. especially from cardinal dolan and sean o'malley. they feel like they are gaining grounds and gaining approval. >> let me bring you into the conversation. you mentioned you are the executive director. your organization put together a petition. you wanted to see the seclusion or some of the cardinals recuse themselves, specifically cardinal mahoney was accused of protecting so-calle

it will be presented by cardinal angelo sedano who is the dean of the cardinals. it's a simple ring. gold-plated ring. it comes from an italian designer. >> let's listen in a minute here. >> translator: the shepherd and guardian of our souls who built a church upon rock, grant you the ring, the seal of peter the fisherman who put his hope in him on the sea of galilee and to whom the lord jesus entrusted the keys of the kingdom of heaven. today you succeed the blessed apostle peter as the bishop of this church which presides over the unity of charity as the blessed apostle paul has taught, may the spirit of charity poured into our hearts grant you the gentleness and strength to preserve through your ministry all those who believe in christ in unity and fellowship. ♪ ♪ >> so the pope has received the fisherman's ring, that symbolic ring. for so long it used to be the ring he used to seal official papal documents. it is destroyed after each papacy. >> they do. they disfigure the image on it so that it cannot be used anymore, but it's symbolic now. >> he did recei

earlier chris cuomo said on our air he talked to a retired cardinal and the retired cardinal's advice to chris was you need to focus on bergoglio. you're missing out that you haven't been discussing him. i don't know the source, which retired cardinal it was. he was certainly right on the money on this. erin, it was an extraordinary day, a day, i think everybody would was here will remember forever, never forget. >> certainly imagine that. and anderson, of course, is going to be live on "ac 360" tonight live from rome. i want to bring in father richard hillgardiner. he's from the u.s. conference of catholic bishops. here at st. patricks, when i arrived, mass was going on inside. there were people who were celebrating this event. some people had come here just to light a candle. the pope said, you know, pray for me. >> absolutely. i thought that was one of the most beautiful moment this is afternoon. as he came out, the custom is the pope gives the first blessing to the people. before he gave that blessing, he asked the faithful to bless him and pray. then he bowed down and in silence,

one of the cardinals taking part in this historic process. north korea stands as a serious threat to the united states and nations in east asia. that is the assessment of the national intelligence director today. announced that it was scrapping the agreement which ended the korean war. today, the country's a leader was pictured visiting front- line troops as tensions arise. for more on the situation, i spoke a brief time ago with the heritage foundation's asian is that he sent her. how high are tensions at this point? >> they are always high but they have gotten higher because of the annual military exercises. also, as a result of the recent un resolution. the rhetoric is high, but it has gotten higher more recently. what's we have seen different from the past is that north korea is now claiming it has a nuclear warhead that can hit the united states. >> south korea, its neighbor, is much more vulnerable. >> exactly. they already have 800 or so missiles that could hit south korea. perhaps 300 that could hit all of japan. possibly 100 that cou

the last for these cardinals before they enter the conclave. there are 150 cardinals. not just the 150 that will vote. they were joined by some 6500 normal people who they call the laity in the catholic church. they waited in long lines to get in this morning, because of what a big moment it is. and the message of inspiration about what a pope is supposed to be. about the sacrifice and the love for people that they're offering the next pope will have. this is an interesting moment for us all to observe because the conclave is one of the best-known secret proceedings. it dates back to the 1200s. changed a little bit over time. but it is still a process where we really don't know what's going on. it makes it so hard to cover as reporters, because the only men who can tell you what's happening ain't talking. under threat of excommunication they take a vow of secrecy. so it is a very big deal. that said a vatican insider told me not too long ago that this time it's different. first, pope benedict xvi resigned. first time that's been done in like 600 years. so that set the