The Catholic Church's senior members will gather for the conclave to elect a new pope in the coming weeks. Robert Harris, the author of "Conclave" that was the inspiration behind the movie released last year,

Black smoke – fumata nera in Italian – indicates an inconclusive vote, while white smoke – fumata bianca – will signify that a new pope has been elected. If three days pass with no pope elected, voting can be suspended for a day to allow the cardinals time for reflection before the next round of ballots are cast.