Vatican City:
They came from Australia, Japan or Brazil to do one thing - train their eyes on a chimney pipe attached to the roof of the Sistine Chapel to see if white smoke would appear.
In a rain-swept St Peter's Square, tens of thousands of people were hoping on Wednesday to see the puff of smoke that would signal that cardinals meeting inside the chapel had reached a decision on who should be the next pope.
Despite two puffs of black smoke in as many days, signalling that the 115 cardinals in the secret conclave had yet to choose a successor to Benedict XVI, many in the crowd were optimistic.
"It's going to be white smoke tonight, I'm sure of it!" said Maltese priest Clive Camilleri, adding: "It's so atmospheric to be all here watching and waiting together, such a thrill!"
Bill Garter, 42, who flew in from Australia and was propped up against a pillar in the square with his binoculars at the ready, said he had never seen anything like it.
"Despite the rain, there's so much energy buzzing around the square: jokes being told, people making friends. It's a once in a lifetime experience," he said.
There were disappointed faces among the faithful huddled under umbrellas after black smoke billowed from the chapel's chimney on Wednesday morning.
But priests and nuns from around the world who filmed the smoke on their tablets or smartphones said they would be back every day until a pope was elected.
"There's a great atmosphere, we're not just waiting for white smoke, we're waiting to see a leader emerge who can open up the Church to the modern world," said Jean Chiche, who came with his wife and daughter from Paris.
Some of the faithful knelt to pray, others sat on camping chairs and read aloud passages from the Bible.
Many were wrapped in flags to support the cardinals from their home countries or were waving banners with the names of their parishes scrawled across them.
"It's the first time I've travelled to the Vatican to see a conclave, but I really felt this time more than any other that the world needs the hope a good pope would bring us," said 71-year-old Brazilian priest Giuseppe Almaida.
"I hope whoever is elected takes the name Clementine, because in this world of wars, suffering and sadness we need clemency," said Almaida, wearing a Brazil baseball cap to show support for Brazilian Cardinal Odilo Scherer, tipped as a possible pope.
Carla Morino, an American student at the Catholic St. Mary's College in Indiana, said she too was backing Scherer, or the relatively young Filipino hopeful Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle.
"We need someone with more charisma and international leadership skills -- not just another Italian or European," she said.
Shinzo Kawamura, a priest from Tokyo, said he hoped the new pope would be Italian or American, because "cardinals from other countries may not have the right experience to tackle issues like growing secularism in the West".
Father Jim, a priest from New York, agreed that an American priest, especially one with the necessary charisma to rouse the young, could revive flagging faith.
"I do believe (cardinal Timothy) Dolan is the man for the job. He has a great sense of humour and an energy about him -- and he's liked by many of the cardinals," he said.
"We need a man like him, a big personality that stands out."
The arrival of former NBA superstar Dennis Rodman outside St. Peter's Square to campaign for a first black African pope was lost on many in the crowd.
Rodman, wearing a t-shirt reading "if it's black, your money back" in a reference to the odds being placed by betting companies on an African cardinal being elected, was pounced on by journalists -- and one misguided fan who cried out "It's Michael Jordan."