Rome, May 8 (LaPresse) – Record crowds have gathered for the Conclave in St. Peter’s Square since this morning. Before the second black smoke appeared around 11:50 a.m., there were already 10,000 people in the square and another 1,000 behind the barriers. In the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, 5,000 faithful were present, over 2,000 in the Basilica of St. John Lateran, and 1,250 at St. Paul Outside the Walls. The steady increase in the number of faithful—peaking at 50,000 last night in St. Peter’s—is being closely monitored by the Rome police.
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