Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church

Indian Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad of the Syro-Malabar Church, official of the Secretariat of State and organizer of papal trips, was created a cardinal by Pope Francis during the consistory at St. Peter’s Basilica on Dec. 7, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, May 8, 2025 / 11:50 am (CNA).

As the most junior member of the College of Cardinals, Koovakad is tasked with drawing out the names of three cardinal scrutineers, infirmarii, and revisers.

“The whiter it gets, the pope-ier I feel!” shouted Gabriel Carberry. Carberry, 27, who came from the Scottish Highlands to St. Peter’s Square to witness the conclave. The recent graduate of a master’s degree in theology program, Carberry announced around 5:45 p.m. that he felt that this was the vote that would result in white […]

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Deborah True. / Credit: Vero Beach Police Department

CNA Staff, May 8, 2025 / 11:20 am (CNA).

The former administrator of a Florida Catholic parish pleaded no contest in court this month to charges that she stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Vero Beach church years ago. 

Prosecutors had alleged in 2022 that Deborah True and Father Richard Murphy stole nearly $1.5 million in parish funds from Holy Cross Catholic Church in Vero Beach between 2015 and 2020.

Murphy died in March 2020. True, meanwhile, was charged with fraud and theft in connection with the alleged crime. She pleaded no contest to a charge of first-degree grand theft in Florida circuit court on May 1.

The former administrator faces up to a decade in prison and two decades of probation. She will also reportedly be required to pay back nearly $700,000 to the parish. 

A “no contest” plea is one in which a criminal defendant neither admits to a charge nor disputes it, effectively conceding that the prosecutor has enough evidence to find him or her guilty. 

Assistant State Attorney William Long told Treasure Coast Newspapers that True will be required to pay back the restitution in monthly installments or else “face being returned to prison,” according to the outlet. 

The plea deal “represented both the state’s pursuit of justice and what we thought was a fair sentence as well as the interest of the victims in this matter,” Long told the news service. 

Police had earlier concluded that from 2015–2020, Murphy and True had funnelled $1.5 million in parishioner donations into a bank account called “Holy Cross Catholic Church.” The account was hidden from the Diocese of Palm Beach, police said. 

Authorities have not taken any action against Murphy because of his death. According to Murphy’s obituary, True was his “longtime” secretary and his caregiver. Murphy was the pastor at Holy Cross for almost 23 years, from 1997 to 2020, True told Vero News at the time of Murphy’s death.

Deborah True. / Credit: Vero Beach Police Department

CNA Staff, May 8, 2025 / 11:20 am (CNA).

Prosecutors had alleged in 2022 that Deborah True and Father Richard Murphy stole nearly $1.5 million in parish funds from Holy Cross Catholic Church in Vero Beach.

Deborah True. / Credit: Vero Beach Police Department

CNA Staff, May 8, 2025 / 11:20 am (CNA).

Prosecutors had alleged in 2022 that Deborah True and Father Richard Murphy stole nearly $1.5 million in parish funds from Holy Cross Catholic Church in Vero Beach.

From left to right: Cardinal Louis Sako (Iraq), Cardinal Mario Zenari (Syria), Cardinal Dominique Mathieu (Iran), Cardinal Louis Sako (Iraq), Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa (Jerusalem), and Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero (Morocco). / Credits: Romy Haber/ACI MENA

ACI MENA, May 8, 2025 / 10:50 am (CNA).

This paradigm shift reflects the profound transformation within the Catholic Church as it increasingly emphasizes broader representation from the global peripheries.

From left to right: Cardinal Louis Sako (Iraq), Cardinal Mario Zenari (Syria), Cardinal Dominique Mathieu (Iran), Cardinal Louis Sako (Iraq), Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa (Jerusalem), and Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero (Morocco). / Credits: Romy Haber/ACI MENA

ACI MENA, May 8, 2025 / 10:50 am (CNA).

This paradigm shift reflects the profound transformation within the Catholic Church as it increasingly emphasizes broader representation from the global peripheries.

Black smoke billows from the chimney at 11:53 a.m. local time over St. Peter’s Square on May 8, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, May 8, 2025 / 10:20 am (CNA).

Where does the smoke come from and how are the two colors — black and white — produced?

Black smoke billows from the chimney at 11:53 a.m. local time over St. Peter’s Square on May 8, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, May 8, 2025 / 10:20 am (CNA).

It’s probably the most-watched smoke in the world: The billows of exhaust unfurl before the watchful eyes of thousands every conclave — the only communication allowed from the cardinals locked inside the Sistine Chapel to decide the next pope.

Whether it is black — meaning the majority has not been reached — or white — meaning the new pope has been elected — is a matter of extreme importance to the billions of Catholics living around the world.

But where does the smoke come from and how are the two colors produced?

It all starts with an iron stove set up in the Sistine Chapel. This particular stove has been used in each conclave since 1939, when Pope Pius XII was elected. A second stove, added in 2005, is also used.

In the older stove, the smoke is produced from burning the ballots on which the cardinal electors cast their votes, together with other documents from the process. The papers are placed in an upper door of the small stove, which is just over 3 feet tall and about 1.5 feet wide.

To prevent any confusion about the color of the smoke, in the 2005 conclave that gave the Church Pope Benedict XVI, a second, more modern stove was also used.

Historically, the white smoke was created by burning the ballots together with dry straw. The black smoke was made from the ballots, wet straw, and with the addition of pitch to darken the color. 

Since 2005, however, chemical compounds have been used (via five cartridges inserted into the more modern stove) to make the colors of the smoke more visibly black and white.

For white smoke, a compound of the chemicals potassium chlorate, lactose, and rosin (also known as Greek pitch) is used, while potassium perchlorate, anthracene, and sulfur are used for the black smoke.

When the paper ballots and other documents are burned in the older stove, an electronic system is activated in the newer stove, triggering the cartridges to produce, in sequence, the chemicals to create a colored smoke lasting seven minutes.

To improve the smoke’s draught, the flue is preheated with electric heaters and even has a fan that can be turned on if needed.

Black smoke billows from the chimney at 11:53 a.m. local time over St. Peter’s Square on May 8, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, May 8, 2025 / 10:20 am (CNA).

Where does the smoke come from and how are the two colors — black and white — produced?