ROME -- Italians have an expression for things that happen rarely, like running into an old school friend who lives far away. They’ll say they see the person “ogni morte di papa” or “every death of a pope.” 

With only four conclaves in the past 35 years there’s good reason for the expression, despite the fact that Benedict’s surprise resignation may force the phrase to change to “ogni cambio di papa”  or “every change of a pope.”

Though the events are few and far between, I’ve had the pleasure of being here the last three times the white smoke went up. And the election of Pope Francis feels reminiscent of the heady excitement surrounding the election of another outsider: Karol Wojtyla as Pope John Paul II.

Zany charm of a crowd of strangers
The first time I saw the white smoke I was just 16 years old, the editor of my high school newspaper at an American school here in Rome.

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It was October 16, 1978, and it was the second conclave in just a few months, because the newly elected John Paul I had died after only 33 days in office. 

St. Peter’s Square was not as well lit as it is today. Only the church’s façade and the Sistine Chapel roof chimney were illuminated. The shoulder-to-shoulder crowd of almost 100,000 stood in a chilled darkness, sustained by an excited, Christmas-like anticipation of the announcement of a new pope. There’s something quite unusual, a little zany and inexplicably charming about standing in an enormous group of strangers, waiting for an arcane smoke signal to reveal a new leader.

The smoke finally appeared on that October night and there was a rush to interpret whether it was black or white. With a history of spotty results when it comes to ballot burning, there was room for doubt, but it ultimately turned a solid white and a thrill ran through the crowd. The anticipation built even more as we waited for the first appearance on the balcony, and the question “Who will it be?” crisscrossed the crowd in a dozen languages.

The Roman Catholic Church made history that night, electing the first foreign pope in more than four centuries. The red velvet draperies trembled and parted to bring forth a vibrant, youthful Polish cardinal. He immediately charmed the crowd in stumbling Italian, and then went on to radically transform the papacy with intercontinental travel, a constant television presence and a historic moral challenge to the Soviet Union’s harsh rule of Eastern European nations behind the Iron Curtain.

After high school and during college I worked for several of the American network news bureaus in Rome. Pope John Paul II was almost killed by a Turkish gunman in St. Peter’s Square in 1981, and I spent most of 1982 working for ABC News. In June of that year, I flew on my first “papal plane” when the pontiff visited Britain.

Satellite television and videotape had just come of age with John Paul II’s election, and the Pole’s long pontificate would rise, thrive and fall under the unblinking eye of the constant camera lens. For people who had known only one pope their whole lives, John Paul II would come to symbolize Catholicism: both stubborn and frail, often charming but also uncompromising.

Transitional, not transformational
The death of John Paul II in 2005 was mourned by millions. I returned to the Vatican for NBC News in 1996 after many years working in the United States and covered the last decade of his papacy.

Like most of my fellow Vatican watchers, I knew the Polish pope would be an impossible act to follow. Still, I hoped the cardinals would go for a bold choice over a safe one.  

Benedict was not that bold choice. But clearly the cardinals felt the church would benefit from a transitional figure, rather than a transformational one like John Paul II.

The white smoke came quickly that time, on the third vote after just a day and a half, and the excitement in the square was shared with cellphones in the age of the Internet. 

The election of 78-year-old Joseph Ratzinger, a full 20 years older than John Paul II at his election, would shift the image of the papacy to a staid, conservative and bookish one.

Many believe resigning was the most courageous act of Benedict’s entire papacy. It took a lot for someone who loves the trappings of Catholic conservatism as much as he does to break with 600 years of tradition, but Benedict did it, making way for one more puff of white smoke.

A swift surprise
This latest conclave also lasted a mere day and a half, a surprise in itself. Unlike the last one, where Ratzinger went in a clear favorite, this time there was an open field, no top contenders, and for the first time in history, not one but two Americans on the short list of possible popes.  

I now work out of San Francisco but came back to Rome to help TODAY with this conclave. After working all day at our live location overlooking the Vatican, I made it through the rain and crowds into St. Peter’s Square with minutes to spare before the smoke appeared.

The white smoke poured out of the chimney, with the force and color of something bellowing from a steam-engine locomotive -- there was no ambiguity this time. The crowd went crazy in the age of smartphones and social media, and basically crashed the local cellular network.

I waited for the announcement with other Americans, excited at the prospect of witnessing the arrival of an American pope. When the red drapes revealed a 76-year-old Argentine, I was initially a little disappointed. But the cardinal of Buenos Aires didn’t take long to change that feeling. 

When the new Pope Francis bent down to ask the crowd to pray for him, before he would bless them, I was moved. This man's humility seemed genuine, palpable and extremely public. Its effect on the crowd was immediate. 

Since then he has broken the mold in half a dozen ways. Refusing the papal limo and riding the bus back after his election with his fellow cardinals. Refusing the gold cross and keeping his iron one. Refusing the red slippers and keeping his clunky black walking shoes. Refusing a prepared speech and speaking off the cuff.

By naming himself after Saint Francis of Assisi, a beloved figure whose radical embrace of poverty reformed an ailing and corrupt church 800 years ago, the pope has already telegraphed that he is open to change.

It's high time the world had a pope with a common touch and a flair for the unscripted. Francis is already reminding a lot of us of the young John Paul II. I’m glad I was here to see his white smoke. 

Stephen Weeke was NBC News' Vatican producer from 1996 to 2005. He is now based in Northern California. 

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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – At the Catholic Church of Our Lady of Caacupé, in Barracks, a Buenos Aires neighborhood, people have been gathering daily to share their jubilation over the election of their former parish priest as Pope Francis.

"We are still flying, we have not woken up," said Rita Espinola. "We thought it would be the Brazilian, then the Italian. And then they said ‘Bergoglio’ and cheers overflowed our neighborhood.”

The church is the heart of this low-income community of some 35,000, many of them maids and construction workers.

"This poor, humble place burst with joy when we heard the news," said Father Facundo Berretta, the new leader of the parish who was ordained by the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio in 2007.

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Parishioners say they are grateful Bergoglio continued to visit them, even as he climbed through the ranks of the Catholic Church, reaching the position of archbishop and cardinal in 2001. They describe seeing Bergoglio in his robes getting off the bus a few blocks from the church to join them in religious processions.   

But not all Argentines are such fans. Some critics allege that Bergoglio failed to protect priests and challenge the military dictatorship during Argentina’s so-called “dirty war” from 1976 to 1983.

The Vatican strongly denied the accusations that Francis was silent during human rights abuses by the former dictatorship on Friday. Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi told reporters the accusations “must be clearly and firmly denied.”

Dark chapter
Still, the elevation of Bergoglio to pope did not stop others from alleging he did not do enough to protect those persecuted by the dictatorship during Argentina’s darkest days.

On Thursday “Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo" marched around the square in front of the National Cathedral, as they do every Thursday afternoon, demanding justice for their children who disappeared during Argentina’s military dictatorship.

The mothers, who formed their group in 1977, have long demanded that they be reunited with their missing children. Military leaders have admitted that more than 9,000 are unaccounted for; but the mothers say the number is closer to 30,000.  

One leader of the group, Ines Vazquez, said Francis is now blessing the world, but he didn't offer blessings for those who were hurt during the time of the dictatorship. She questioned whether the pope will do something to help the mothers' cause in the future.

Bergoglio was in charge of a Jesuit congregation in 1976 when two priests from the group where abducted by agents of the dictatorship, according to journalist Horacio Verbistky. It was later discovered that the priests, Francisco Jalics and Orlando Yorio, had been tortured.   

While being questioned by investigators in November 2010, Bergoglio testified that as the priests' superior he had alerted them that they were in danger of falling victim to what he called the "military paranoia" if they continued working in a particular slum. After their abductions, he met with dictator Jorge Videla and with military commanders to advocate for the priests' freedom, he told investigators.  

The priests survived, but critics say Bergoglio should have publicly defended them and criticized the regime. 

Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel wrote in an op-ed published Friday in El Clarin newspaper: "I do not believe Jorge Bergoglio was an accomplice of the dictatorship, but he lacked courage to accompany our fight for human rights during the most difficult times." 

‘How far could he have gone to protect people?
Many well-known Argentinians have come out to defend Bergoglio. Human rights advocate Graciela Fernandez Meijide, who describes herself as an atheist, said speculating about Bergoglio playing a role in the abuses is unfair. 

"How far could he have gone to protect people?" she asked journalists, describing how her own son was abducted from her house during the dictatorship and she was unable to save him. She said human rights investigators never found proof that Bergoglio was involved.

She added that she believes Argentine President Cristina Fernandez Kirchner is fomenting the criticism of Bergoglio.

Relations between the president and the former cardinal could be described as tense. During sermons he often accused the administration of not helping the poor enough and of distorting inflation numbers. But relations became more heated when the cardinal led the fight against the president's attempts to legalize gay marriage in 2010. Bergoglio described it as the devil's work.

He lost, and gay marriage is now legal in Argentina.  

However, the president did wish Bergoglio well upon finding out he would be the new pope. 

‘A treasure’
Back at Bergoglio’s old church, parishioners were happy to swap stories about their old priest who last visited on Dec. 8, when he administered the sacrament of confirmation to dozens of neighbors.  

Raul Valdivieso came to show friends a photo of himself and his wife with Bergoglio. He said the priest baptized most of his family members. "We even ate 'choripan' together,” said Valdivieso, referring to the traditional Argentinian meal of sausage on Italian bread. He also liked drinking "mate," a traditional tea made with herbs, others said.

"The church today needs a pope with that kind of humility,” said Father Berretta, the parish leader. He added that he is very proud that the church has a Hispanic pope.  "For us he is a treasure."  

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VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis celebrated his first mass as pontiff Thursday, urging the Catholic church to emphasize its core faith and the Gospels or risk becoming like "a compassionate NGO," referring to non-governmental organizations that provide community services.

He warned that following anything other than spiritual values was like children building sand-castles on a beach, Reuters reported. "Then everything comes crashing down," he said, according to the report.

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His homily, in front of a congregation at St Peter's Basilica, was short and delivered without notes. It was also given in Italian, in place of the Latin preferred by his predecessor, the pope emeritus.

 

The first full day of his pontificate saw more details emerge about his character and background.

Officials said Pope Francis had declined the official papal car and joked with cardinals not long after being elected as head of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics on Wednesday night.

One Vatican insider admitted he was as "surprised" by the choice of Francis as the rain-soaked crowd at St. Peter's Square — where an audible gasp followed the pontiff's unveiling. 

"I didn’t expect it," press spokesman Father Federico Lombardi told reporters, referring to the moment when Argentine Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio appeared on the balcony overlooking the square.

The Latin American pope’s election shattered Europe's centuries-old grip on the papacy, and his choice of name — in honor of the 12th century saint from Assisi — is widely seen as a nod to a new era of simplicity.

Lombardi said Pope Francis declined the official papal car for his first journey from the Sistine Chapel, choosing instead to board a bus with cardinals who had just elected him.

Later, at dinner, the new pope prompted laughter by responding to their toast with the remark: "May god forgive you for what you have done."

Those observations were echoed by New York's Cardinal Tim Dolan, who told TODAY's Matt Lauer that Francis had shunned protocol that called for him to sit on elevated platform, preferring instead to stand alongside fellow cardinals. "So he greeted each of us as brothers, literally on the same level as we were.”

Francis returned Thursday to the church-run hostel where he had stayed ahead of the conclave and insisted on paying the bill.

"He was concerned about giving a good example of what priests and bishops should do," a Vatican spokesman said. He did not disclose how much the bill totaled.

A theological conservative who has also been hailed for his compassion toward the poor, the 76-year-old Francis is the first Jesuit pontiff. 

He is also expected to become the first pope in more than 600 years to meet his predecessor. Francis will travel to the hillside papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo to greet the emeritus pope, who is living there temporarily after abdicating as Benedict XVI on Feb. 28.

Lombardi on Thursday confirmed the historic meeting would take place but said the timing had yet to be decided.

Francis will be formally installed as the church's new leader on Tuesday.

Earlier Thursday, he made a quick and discrete visit to Rome’s Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.

"He spoke to us cordially like a father," Father Ludovico Melo told Reuters after the meeting. "We were given 10 minutes' advance notice that the pope was coming".

The new pope, who is also now Bishop of Rome, prayed before a famous icon of the Madonna called the Salus Populi Romani, or Protectress of the Roman People.

NBC News' Vatican expert George Weigel predicted Francis would "certainly" prove to be a reformer when it comes to the Roman curia — the Vatican bureaucracy at the heart of the Catholic church.

The election of Francis appeared to surprise even those at the very heart of the church leadership, particularly among its sizable Italian contingent.

The Conference of Italian Bishops was so confident of victory for Milan’s Cardinal Angelo Scola that an emailed press statement congratulating the new pope was sent with a covering email that referred to Scola, not the victorious Bergoglio, as the chosen successor to Benedict.

Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported that the conclave had "rebelled against the curia."

However, Cardinal Dolan denied the conclave had been divided. "I didn't sense that tug of war at all," he said. "I sensed a rather remarkable consensus. We needed a man who had a good track record of sound, effective pastoral governance, and we got what we wanted."

Italy's La Stampa newspaper cited an interview Bergoglio gave last year in which he condemned "vanity" and said being cardinal was "not an award to be bragged about."

Outside the Vatican, torrential overnight rain had cleansed St Peter's Square of any sign of the 100,000-strong crowd that had cheered, applauded and cried when Francis emerged on the balcony above.

Newspaper vendors were kept busy by tourists lining to see inside the basilica.

"I think he will be a pope who thinks about more than just the Vatican," said Maryland native Marjorie Steiner, 61, who visited St. Peter’s Square on Thursday as part of a vacation in Rome.

Dory Gordon, 51, from Houston, Texas, who was also on vacation, said: "As a Catholic I'm really excited that they have made this break with tradition. It sends out a good message that the church is here for all the world's people."

NBC's John Newland, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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This story was originally published on Thu Mar 14, 2013 5:25 AM EDT

VATICAN CITY — Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected the first non-European pope in more than 1,000 years on Wednesday, signaling the beginning of a new era for a church combating scandal and internal strife.

Described as a conservative with "great compassion," the 76-year-old will be known as His Holiness Pope Francis. He will be installed at the Vatican on Tuesday.

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The new pontiff named himself after the humble Catholic friar St. Francis of Assisi. President Barack Obama hailed the new leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics as a "champion of the poor."

The first Latin American pope was introduced from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.

There was an audible gasp from the rain-soaked crowd - an indication that he had not been a widely tipped choice - followed by a roar and wild applause.

In Italian, he seemed to address his outsider status by joking: "As you know the duty of the conclave is to give Rome a bishop. It seems that my brother cardinals went almost to the end of the world."

“Pray for me and I will see you soon," he added, asking Catholics to also pray for his predecessor Benedict XVI, who abdicated on Feb. 28. "Have a good evening and rest well.”

His first act on Thursday will be to visit his predecessor, the Pope Emeritus, New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan told reporters later.

A vocal advocate for Argentina’s poor during the economic crises that struck the country during the 1970s, Francis is the first Jesuit pope.

Vote: Was Pope Francis a good choice?

Known for his humility, Francis is the son of a railway worker and one of five siblings. He has a chemistry degree.

Francis has only one fully-functioning lung, the other having been partially removed due to an infection when he was a teenager. 

He prizes simplicity and is expected to encourage priests to do shoe-leather evangelization, according to his biographer.

Shortly after his election, Francis skipped the limousine and chose instead to ride on the last shuttle bus with other cardinals to go back to the Vatican for a meal.

"And as the last bus pulls up, guess who gets off? It's Pope Francis. I guess he told the driver 'That's OK, I'll just go with the boys,'" Dolan told reporters.

Later, during the dinner, Dolan said Francis showed his humorous side.

"We toasted him and when he toasted us he said: 'May God forgive you,' which brought the house down," he said.

About an hour before Francis emerged on the balcony, white smoke rose above the Sistine Chapel and bells rang out across Rome to signal a decision had been made.

The unveiling of the new pope was moment of pure joy for the 100,000 pilgrims, tourists and other onlookers in St Peter's Square.  

"Who is this?" asked Deirdre Sweeney from Boston, Mass., when Francis first walked onto the balcony.

"Argentinian!" shouted a man nearby.

 “I think this is wonderful,” said Sweeney’s husband, Kevin. “It's an incredible breakthrough. It's a great recognition for the church that the church is not euro-centric anymore."

Another man shouted: "It’s very gutsy that he chose the name Francis, he’s going to be the first Francis. He wants to be a humble pope and build the church up, from a time of ruin, like St. Francis of Assisi."

Smoke billowed from the chimney at 7:07 p.m. local time (2:07 p.m. ET) on the second day of behind-closed-doors voting.

The cardinals are thought to have taken five ballots to reach the two-thirds of the vote necessary for a decision.

The new pontiff's debut was heralded by a Latin announcement beginning with the phrase "Habemus Papam!" meaning, "We have a pope!"

George Weigel, NBC News' Vatican analyst, said Francis would be "a great defender of religion around the world.”

“The papacy has moved to the New World. The church has a new pope with a new name,” he added. “I think it speaks to the church’s commitment to the poor of the world and compassion in a world that often needs a lot of healing.”

Obama said the choice of the first pope from the Americas spoke "to the strength and vitality" of a region "that is increasingly shaping our world."

"Alongside millions of Hispanic Americans, those of us in the United States share the joy of this historic day," the president said in a statement.

Now known as Pope Emeritus, Francis' predecessor Benedict watched Wednesday's events from a temporary lakeside residence at Castel Gandolfo while his permanent living quarters inside Vatican City are refurbished.

The behind-the-scenes ballot process that took place in the Sistine Chapel should still remain a secret. Both the cardinals and staff working alongside them swore an oath of secrecy as the conclave got under way, with the threat of ex-communication for anyone breaking the church's ancient code.

NBC News' Yuka Tachibana and Richard O'Kelly, and Reuters contributed to this report.

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This story was originally published on Wed Mar 13, 2013 4:14 AM EDT

CAPE COAST, Ghana — On Sundays in the Ghanaian city of Cape Coast, the pews in Roman Catholic churches do something most Americans would find surprising. They fill up. 

Unlike the typical 45-minute Mass in the United States, these services are two and a half hours long, but that’s what churchgoers come for. Those who show up late will find a few plastic chairs arranged outside. Better luck next week. 

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The West Coast of Africa is one of the only places in the world where Catholicism is growing. Since 2005, the number of Catholics on the African continent has grown by more than 20% and it is expected to continue at that pace for the next decade.

There are also plenty of priests. In fact, seminaries here are producing so many priests, they often move to Europe to fill a growing shortage.

So it’s no surprise, really, that the cardinal from Ghana, Cardinal Peter Turkson, was discussed as a likely candidate for pope in the early days after Pope Benedict announced he was stepping down. It now seems he is a long shot, but there are still plenty of people pulling for him here.

After Mass last Sunday in Cape Coast, the city about 100 miles from Ghana's capital Accra where Turkson served as archbishop, one parishioner summed up his chances this way: "We never thought a half black man would be president of the U.S. But it happened and he is doing okay. So [Turkson] could be the pope."

 

From village to archdiocese 
The 64-year-old was born in the small mining village of Nsuta Wassa, in Western Ghana, the fourth of ten children. His father scraped by as a carpenter in a local mine while his mother sold vegetables on the street, sometimes helped by her young son Peter. School was held at the Catholic Church near the foot of the manganese mine. In the afternoons, the future cardinal played soccer and fished with his friends.

Those early years helped shape Turkson, making him as much a social advocate as a leader of the church. Like many African bishops, he has focused on economic equality, environmental issues and peace. Turkson believes the church plays a vital role in stepping up where governments fail.

In the Cape Coast archdiocese, which Turkson ran for nearly two decades, the Catholic Church provides 60-70% of all health and education services. The cardinal helped open Mercy Hospital, a facility that focuses on women’s healthcare.

Patrick Yamoa, the doctor who runs the hospital, says the number of patients served has skyrocketed since its opening two years ago, from 80 people a week to 300 a day. Yamoa said that as a teenager he wanted to become a priest — until he met Cardinal Turkson who convinced the young science whiz to pursue medicine. Ghana was in desperate need of good doctors. 

Just two weeks ago, before heading to Rome for the conclave, Turkson dropped in to check up on the clinic's finances and discovered the hospital needs a new ambulance. Yamoa suspects that with Turkson’s help they will get it by the end of the month.

He's also not surprised the cardinal stopped by even during this very busy time. "That is an attribute that endears him to many people," said Yamoa.

In 2009, Pope Benedict promoted Turkson to President of the Pontifical Council of Peace and Justice. The council focuses on war and good business practices, including the causes of the recent global financial meltdown.

This experience, combined with his pedigree (Turkson speaks eight languages), and the skills he learned as head of a diocese, have led many to consider him a well-rounded candidate for the top job.

But Archbishop Matthias Kobena Nketsiah, the current head of the Cape Coast archdiocese, said he doesn’t believe the Catholic Church is ready for its first black pope. "One problem would be acceptability. That people would accept a black pope…Not everybody. No."

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VATICAN CITY — Black smoke rose above the Sistine Chapel on Tuesday, signaling that 115 Roman Catholic cardinals failed to agree on a new pope during the first day of the papal conclave.

The "princes of the church" began deliberating inside the Vatican after swearing an oath of secrecy and entering the papal conclave at about 5 p.m. local time (12 p.m. ET).

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The smoke was created by the burning of ballot papers used by the cardinals in their deciding vote, with chemical cartridges being added to ensure the smoke did not appear to be white — the sign that a decision has been reached. It means the conclave will reconvene on Wednesday morning. 

None of the 115 cardinals will be seen or heard, nor will they have any contact with the outside world, until they have chosen a successor to Benedict XVI, who abdicated on Feb. 28.

"They're on their own now," said NBC News Vatican expert George Weigel, referring to the total isolation demanded by church rules.

Shortly after the conclave began, semi-naked feminist activists with the words "pope no more" written on their chests and backs staged a protest right next to St. Peter's Square, directly in front of the Vatican. 

They were tackled by police and detained.

The word "conclave" comes from the Latin meaning "with key". It is a church tradition that began in 1268 when local officials became so fed up with the lack of a decision among cardinals — they had deliberated for more than two years — that they locked them away with limited food and water to encourage a result.

Earlier, thousands of pilgrims and tourists waited in line to get inside St. Peter's Basilica for a special pre-conclave Mass with the cardinals.

The "Mass Pro Eligendo Pontifice" began at 10 a.m. local time (5 a.m. ET) in front of a congregation of worshippers who were waiting outside in St. Peter's Square for tickets allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

"It’s in the air! You really feel it," said Lois Girten, 55, from Austin, Texas, who secured a last-minute place on a two-week pilgrimage to Rome through a cancellation.

"It’s God’s gift that I’m in Rome just as the conclave takes place. I’m almost speechless with excitement, it’s a real treat for me."

Several thousand visitors were allowed in to take part in the service, according to Religion News Service correspondent Alessandro Speciale inside the basilica.

'Noble mission'
In his homily, cardinal Angelo Sodano, Dean of the College of Cardinals, told the congregation: "My brothers, let us pray that the Lord will grant us a pontiff who will embrace this noble mission with a generous heart."

At night, cardinals will walk or be taken by minibus the short distance to the modest rooms in Casa Santa Marta, which John Paul II had built in 1996.

Such is the importance of secrecy that Vatican officials have installed jamming devices to prevent the use of cellphones by cardinals or hidden microphones by anyone wanting to hear their deliberations.

No conclave has lasted more than five days in the past century, with most finishing within two or three days. Pope Benedict was elected within barely 24 hours in 2005 after just four rounds of voting.

Benedict triggered the election last month with his shock decision to abdicate because of his increasingly frail health — the first pontiff to step down in six centuries.

He leaves his successor a sea of troubles — including seemingly never-ending sex-abuse scandals, rivalry and strife inside the Vatican bureaucracy, a shortage of priests and a rise of secularism in its European strongholds.

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ROME — In this country, where they love to talk, there are many views on how long the cardinals will take to choose the next pope. 

The leaders of the Catholic Church don't have to act fast. When your history stretches back 2,000 years and beyond, time is relative. In 1268, the church leadership was so divided it took three years to choose a new pope. Three weeks, even three months, would not be long by comparison.

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Three days is a good bet. Even Pope John Paul II, considered an outsider, was selected on the third day. But if the conclave is bitterly divided, cardinals could keep going… and going.

In Roman times the Senate of the Republic would begin at dawn. Senators were adept at delaying a vote, drawing out proceedings.

Fast forward from Roman times and Italy had inherited a culture with a slow pace and a love of long lunches and weekends away from work.

Yet this is also the country that invented the espresso, where coffee is often drunk standing up. Italians created one of the world's greatest fast foods: pizza. And then there's Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati — Italian cars go at one speed: fast. 

Perhaps Italy’s need for speed is partly a reaction to the slow lane that Italy so often appears to occupy. Traffic lights seem to take forever to change; it is little wonder many Italian drivers have one hand permanently on their vehicle's horn.

Italy’s culture has shaped not only the conclave process but the entire machinery of the Vatican — a fact that some say explains many of the church’s current predicaments.

“The way in which the dysfunction of 21st century Italy has re-established itself within the curia in recent years is one of the most important issues for the church,” NBC News Vatican expert George Weigel said.

Twenty-eight of the 115 cardinals taking part in the conclave are from Italy — more than two-and-a-half times the number from the next-largest represented nation, the United States.

For almost 200 years, no papal selection has lasted longer than five days, and it is possible that all the talking prior to the conclave has helped narrow down the field. The voting itself is a slow process — the ballots are counted three times — but the results are announced as they come in, so it will quickly be clear to the cardinals if there is an emerging consensus.

Then the new pope will walk out on to the balcony St. Peter's Basilica. And the conversation will move on to whether the pace of change in the Roman Catholic Church will speed up or slow down.

NBC News' Alastair Jamieson contributed to this report.

Follow NBC News' Keir Simmons on Twitter.

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As the papal conclave continued in Rome, wrapped in mystery and secrecy, there was no indication that the 115 cardinals will be deciding between just a couple of front-runners in choosing a successor to Pope Benedict XVI.

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Milan's Cardinal Angelo Scola and Brazil's Cardinal Odilo Scherer are names that keep cropping up on the lists of papabili, but NBC News Vatican analyst George Weigel says no fewer than 20 men could get votes when balloting starts Tuesday in the Sistine Chapel.

They come from the traditional bastions of Italy, from growth areas like sub-Saharan Africa, even from the United States. Only time — and a puff of white smoke — will reveal which one will emerge as leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics.

Here, in alphabetical order, are the princes of the church who Weigel says could be considered for the top job:

Angelo Bagnasco: The archbishop of Genoa, he also heads the influential conference of Italian bishops. Considered an intellectual heavyweight with a teaching background in metaphysics, he was described as a "pragmatic centrist" by the National Catholic Reporter. Bagnasco, 70, received death threats after hard-line remarks against same-sex marriages in 2007.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio: The archbishop of Buenos Aires is the Argentine-born son of an Italian railway worker. Seen as a compassionate conservative, he reportedly came in second during the 2005 balloting that ultimately elected Benedict XVI. The 76-year-old Jesuit prizes simplicity and humility and would encourage priests to do shoe-leather evangelization, his biographer says.

Giuseppe Betori: The archbishop of Florence, he has been a cardinal for just a year. As secretary-general of the Italian bishops conference, he "built a reputation for himself as a 'bridge builder' in relations between the Vatican and the Italian government," the Italian daily La Stampa reported. Betori, 66, survived a 2011 assassination attempt by an emotionally disturbed person.

Thomas Collins: The archbishop of Toronto was made a cardinal last year. A biblical scholar, he told an Italian newspaper that the biggest challenge facing the church is persecution in an increasingly secular society. Known for his media savvy and rousing sermons, Collins, 66, helped investigate the sex-abuse crisis in Ireland and sits on a Vatican council on education.

Timothy Dolan: The ebullient archbishop of New York is among the best-known cardinals in America and heads the important U.S. bishops conference. Dolan, 63, doesn't run from political controversy or the cameras. The Vatican has been impressed with his dynamic style, conservative chops and missionary zeal, but others may be wary of his effervescence.

Dominik Duka: Talk about a dramatic back story: the archbishop of Prague was forced to work secretly as a priest during 15 years of Communist rule — spending his days as a designer in a factory — and was even jailed for a year during an anti-religion crackdown. Duka, 66, has been active in getting church property returned in a nation where secularism reigns.

Willem Eijk: The archbishop of Utrecht in the Netherlands has two doctorates — one in medicine, one in philosophy — and is considered an expert on bioethics. Eijk, 59, issued a strong apology in 2011 after a commission found the Dutch church had bungled sex-abuse allegations in past decades.

Peter Erdo: The archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest in Hungary "has been on the ecclesiastical fast track his entire career," the National Catholic Reporter says. A canon lawyer, Erdo, 60, heads Europe's Catholic bishops and sits on key Vatican committees. In Budapest, he was known for encouraging lay missionaries to visit every home in a parish to invite the lapsed back to the church.

Sean O'Malley: The archbishop of Boston wears sandals and a hooded Capuchin monk's cassock and says he doesn't expect to trade them in for red shoes and white robes. But O'Malley, 68, has gotten high marks for his cleanup of Boston's sex-abuse mess and heads the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' high-profile pro-life committee.

John Onaiyekan: The archbishop of Abuja in Nigeria was hailed as "the Timothy Dolan of Africa" by the National Catholic Reporter for his big personality. Onaiyekan, 69, also has intellectual and moral heft and successfully pushed for Democratic elections in his homeland. "There's nothing to stop an African from being the pope," he said in Rome last week.

Marc Ouellet: The former archbishop of Quebec and current head of the powerful Congregation for Bishops, this Canadian cardinal is on many conclave short lists. A scholarly theologian who is fluent in six languages, Ouellet, 68, has plenty of experience in Latin America, where he taught, and the Vatican, where he essentially serves as a staff director.

George Pell: The son of pub owners, the archbishop of Sydney is seen as a straight-talking conservative with fans in the Vatican hierarchy. Pell, 71, raised eyebrows when he questioned Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI's decision to resign and suggested he was a better theologian than leader. He gets poor marks from sex-abuse victims' groups.

Albert Malcolm Ranjith: The archbishop of Colombo, Sri Lanka, he has strong Vatican ties and was close to Pope Benedict XVI. But the National Catholic Reporter said that Ranjith, 65, may be too traditional; he's against taking communion in the hand and is a fan of the Latin Mass.

Leonardo Sandri: He was born in Argentina and worked as a parish priest there, but Sandri, 69, spent years trotting the globe as a Vatican diplomat. From 2000 to 2007, he was the Vatican chief of staff and he now serves as prefect for the Congregation for Eastern Churches. He's well-liked but may be seen as a better No. 2 than pope.

Robert Sarah: The former archbishop of Conakry, Guinea, Sarah, 67, now heads Cor Unum, the Vatican's charitable arm. He's described as progressive on social justice issues and very conservative on hot-button topics like gays, contraception and abortion. Despite his Roman credentials, he isn't seen as a mover and shaker.

Christoph Schonborn: The archbishop of Vienna is "the closest thing to a wild card this time around," the National Catholic Reporter said. One of the more moderate candidates, Schonborn, 68, made waves a few years ago when he criticized powerful Cardinal Angelo Sodano for blocking a sex-abuse investigation. He comes from a noble family and speaks seven languages.

Angelo Scola: More than one list of papbili has Scola, 71, at the top. He headed the church in Venice, is now the archbishop of Milan, and has ties to the influential and conservative group Communion and Liberation. He's an expert in bioethics and has worked extensively on Catholic-Muslim relations. But he may lack the charisma to seal the deal.

Odilo Scherer: Born in Brazil to German immigrants, Scherer is archbishop of Sao Paulo but has solid Roman experience from his time as prefect at the Congregation for Bishops. The 63-year-old takes the subway to work and is active on Twitter. He's got moderate-conservative credentials but Catholicism is being challenged by Protestant churches on his home turf.

Luis Tagle: The archbishop of Manila has charisma, a preaching style that brings people to tears, social-media know-how and ties to Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI. But Tagle is only 55 years old and became a cardinal just four months ago so Asia's rising star might have to wait until the next conclave.

Peter Turkson: The former archbishop of Ghana now heads the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. Energetic and easy-going, Turkson, 64, has talked openly about the possibility of becoming pope — too openly, perhaps. He also lost points for clumsily screening a controversial video on Muslims at a Vatican synod. Despite all the attention he gets in the Italian press, Weigel says he's not likely to be a vote-getter.

The Associated Press, Reuters and the National Catholic Reporter contributed to this report

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It's right there in black or white: At the end of every conclave voting session, a smoke signal is released from the Sistine Chapel's chimney.

Black means no agreement. White means the Catholic Church has a new pope.

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But as history has shown, relying on the burning of ballots to communicate with the world sometimes puts the men in the red hats in a gray area.

There has been white smoke that looked dark and black smoke that wasn't dark enough and plenty of other technical problems that seem to clash with the meticulous ritual that accompanies the election of a pontiff.

"Even with all this planning, they still can't get it right," said Christopher Bellitto, a professor of history at Kean University in New Jersey who has written books on Catholicism.

The public assumption is that the Vatican must use smoke signals because that's what has been done since the time of Peter. Not so, said Frederic Baumgartner, author of "Behind Locked Doors: A History of the Papal Elections."

For centuries, bells or cannons were used to spread the news. It wasn't until the 1800s that the faithful gathered in the piazza every day began to look to the chimney for an indication that a vote had taken place; the first election where the cardinals used two different types of smoke to announce the outcome didn't happen until 1903, Baumgartner said.

Getting a good fire going just from the ballots was a challenge, but stoking the flames got easier after Pope Pius X ordered that every scrap of paper used in the conclave be incinerated. He was afraid the cardinals' notes would leak to the press.

"Pius X was offended by the newspaper accounts that appeared after his election," Baumgartner said.

At first, damp straw was used to blacken the smoke, but it didn't always produce a definitive shade. In 1958, after two false alarms, someone got the bright idea to buy smoke bombs. The color was right, but they filled the Sistine Chapel with smoke.

Five years later, they tried army flares. In the first of the two 1978 conclaves, they switched to chemical additives, but the backdraft was sickening and the cardinals "came out hacking and wheezing," John Thavis writes in his book "The Vatican Diaries."

For the second one, they changed back to the less offensive flares, but when the cardinals voted in Pope John Paul II, the smoke was gray.

By 2005, the Vatican was anxious to get it right and unveiled a two-stove system. One would incinerate the ballots; the other would burn chemical cartridges to color the smoke.

And there was a backup plan: the 10-ton campanone, the ninth largest bell in the world, would be rung to verify a new pope had been chosen.

How could it fail?

Well, after the cardinals elected Pope Benedict XVI, the smoke that poured out of the narrow stovepipe was a decidedly murky shade. Inside the chapel, things were not going well, Thavis wrote.

Every time the door to the stove was opened for more ballots to be shoved in, black smoke belched into the chamber decorated with Michaelangelo's priceless frescoes.

"These cardinals are not exactly handymen," Bellitto said.

Even worse, in all the excitement, no one had gotten a message to the Vatican electrician sitting nervously with a rotary phone in the bell tower control room, waiting for the go-ahead to ring the campanone, according to Thavis' book.

To confuse matters further, some bells were ringing -- the ones that simply marked the six o'clock hour -- but there was a 17-minute delay before the big one started to peal and everyone knew the church had a new leader.

There's no guarantee the smoke signals will be any clearer at the end of this conclave. Regardless, even in the age of Twitter -- including a tongue-in-cheek account called @PapalSmokeStack -- and text messaging, the Vatican is content to rely on a stove and flue to break its biggest news.

"Innovation is not in its DNA," Bellitto explained. "And nobody does ritual like the Catholic Church."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

ROME — Jamming devices to halt communication were installed at the Vatican on Monday, as part of a security lockdown ahead of the papal conclave.

The behind-the-scenes ballot process is supposed to remain a secret, but modern technology left Roman Catholic Church officials taking no chances.

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Staff working alongside the cardinals voting inside the Sistine Chapel must swear an oath of secrecy.

"I expect they’ll be on a total lockdown," NBC News' Vatican analyst George Weigel said. "Security is tight. It’s got to be."

Jamming devices will be used at the Sistine Chapel inside the Vatican and the nearby guest residences at Santa Marta where cardinals will sleep during the conclave, officials told reporters on Friday.

The move will ensure cardinals cannot communicate with the outside world or use social media. It will also prevent hidden microphones from picking up the discussions.

Any cardinals or Vatican workers –- such as those serving food in Santa Marta – breaching the code face excommunication from the church.

"Even who said, 'pass the salt' is a secret," wrote Sister Mary Ann Walsh, media relations director for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in a blog post. "In this electronic age, I worry some cardinals may go into iPad and Twitter withdrawal."

To prevent any contact with the outside world, cardinals will also be taken the 750 yards from Santa Marta to the Sistine Chapel by bus.

"The Vatican highly prizes the traditional Conclave secrecy — even more so after the leaks scandal that have plagued it in the past months," said Alessandro Speciale, Vatican correspondent for Religion News Service. "Most of the jamming measures were already in use in 2005, but of course, back then there were no smartphones and iPads. While cardinals will probably take their commitment to secrecy seriously, some of them are avid [Tweeters] and bloggers, and they might risk going into internet withdrawal if the conclave drags on too long."

Weigel added: "It would be difficult for anyone to use a cellphone, even out of sight. With 115 cardinals in the Sistine Chapel, space is tight and it would be obvious if anyone was checking their phone."

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