About

Conclave Smoke Signal Parodies refers to memes and jokes about the smoke signal emitted from the Sistine Chapel during the papal conclave. Beginning on May 7th, 2025, the College of Cardinals locked themselves into the Sistine Chapel to commence the selection of a new Pope (an event known as the conclave), weeks after the death of Pope Francis in April 2025. Leading up to the selection of the new pope, numerous internet users posted memes and Photoshop edits about the ritual, altering images of the smoke emitting from the chimney to joke about what the differently colored smoke could mean.

Origin

The papal conclave smoke signal is a traditional method used by the College of Cardinals to indicate the outcome of a papal election. When black smoke emits from the Sistine Chapel chimney on top of the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City, it signifies an inconclusive vote, while white smoke announces the election of a new pope. According to the New York Times,^[1] this practice dates back to at least 1903.

The ritual inspired memes in April and May 2025, with internet users posting jokes about what the different smoke colors mean and altering images of differently colored smoke emitting from the chimney.

On April 22nd, 2025, Twitter / X^[2] user @mikestanphil posted a meme showing the fast-food chain Popeyes edited to read "Popenos" with black smoke emerging from its chimney, a pun on the idea that black smoke meant "No Pope." The caption on the image read, "An idea I’ve been kicking around for a while, suddenly timely."

The image was reposted to Imgur^[3] by user Hmuda on May 7th, where it gathered over 25,000 views in a day.

Spread

Other internet users latched on to jokes about what the smoke emitted from the Sistine Chapel could mean after the conclave commenced on May 7th, 2025.

For example, on May 7th, 2025, the X^[7] account @ClubConcrave tweeted about the Sistine Chapel chimney emitting black smoke on the first evening of the conclave alongside a Live Reaction banner, writing, "(BREAKING) NOOOOOOOOO POPE!" The post gathered over 90,000 likes in a day.

The Instagram^[4] page @thereservedrivers posted a joke about Alpine choosing Franco Colapinto as their new driver on May 7th, writing, "White smoke signals new Alpine Driver" and gathering over 35,000 likes in a day.

That same day, X^[5] user @DiscussingSoy tweeted, "On the first day of the Papal Conclave, red smoke has risen. This signifies that the Anti-Christ has been revealed and the end times are inevitable," gathering over 17,000 likes in a day.

Also on May 7th, 2025, the Instagram^[6] page @meltedvideos posted a slideshow of AI-generated memes about the smoke emitting from the Sistine Chapel during the 2025 Conclave, gathering over 85,000 likes in a day.

Various Examples

Search Interest

Unavailable.

External References