It has been a gull-orious past two days in Vatican City.
Moments before white smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel chimney on Thursday afternoon, all eyes were on a seagull family, entertaining onlookers in the Vatican and those watching livestreams from home.
About an hour later, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was announced as the new pope, the first pope in history from the U.S. The new pontiff took the name Leo XIV.
Throughout the entire papal conclave, which began Wednesday, May 7, seagulls were spotted hoping around the Sistine Chapel chimney. A seagull chick even made an appearance a few times.
New pope: History is made with Pope Leo XIV, first-ever pontiff from U.S.
Some seagulls got a front-row view of the action, much to the delight of the internet. Here’s a look at the funny reactions on social media.
‘Baby seagull and white smoke’
Minutes before white smoke appeared, signaling a new pope was chosen, a seagull family, including a baby, was spotted near the chimney.
This seagull thinks the cheers are for him. pic.twitter.com/uKCdIgGC9N
— The Redheaded libertarian (@TRHLofficial) May 8, 2025
2 minutes and 22 seconds of baby seagull and white smoke!! habemus papam 🥳🥳🥳 pic.twitter.com/yjzP7UnUrf
— hui (@redbeanpancakes) May 8, 2025
deeply obsessed with this baby seagull who was right there as the smoke started billowing pic.twitter.com/raTTNJDL59
— david rind (@thedavidrindexp) May 8, 2025
Seagulls capture hearts … and cats
Whether they intended to be influencers or not, the seagulls are made waves on social media during the two days of the papal conclave.
This seagull will never know that it being watched by possibly hundreds of cats around the world pic.twitter.com/q5fONZVJ8l
— Sasha Sheko (@sashasheko) May 8, 2025
This seagull is all of us rn pic.twitter.com/kHHGutiTC2
— LifeSite Catholic (@LSNCatholic) May 7, 2025
Shoutout to that one seagull locked in on the Conclave proceedings pic.twitter.com/EwNdwjR19H
— Fr. Cassidy Stinson (@TheHappyPriest) May 7, 2025
That seagull’s gonna have an account on here within the hour, watch it pic.twitter.com/nNhyykzOZI
— Jack Parker (@JackParkr) May 7, 2025
Our #Conclave distraction … seagull family on our roof in Rome pic.twitter.com/5bwbtBaU0t
— Alastair Bruce (@AlastairBruce_) May 7, 2025
baby seagull on camera!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/9mzSKh3rZL
— hui (@redbeanpancakes) May 7, 2025
There’s a seagull chilling on top of the Sistine Chapel while the cardinals are in conclave. He’s been up there for hours. Is he guarding? Is he judging? Is he… campaigning? You know what? BIRD FOR POPE. He’s got the hat vibes already pic.twitter.com/sAhR7JBkL9
— Nicole Deonanan (@alooamiga) May 7, 2025
I’m watching Sky News waiting for the smoke, and my cats decided that the seagull on the Sistine Chapel’s roof is the single most exciting thing ever 🤣#Conclave pic.twitter.com/rLCElU9DOL
— Snow White Shadow (@DoomWingsShadow) May 7, 2025
Not a first for seagulls
This isn’t the first time seagulls have made an appearance during a papal conclave. During the 2013 conclave that elected Pope Francis, a seagull appeared in several livestream shots of the Sistine Chapel chimney, similar to Wednesday. And as a result, an entire X account was created for the bird called Sistine Seagull, which lead to the creation of countless memes.
What is a papal conclave?
A papal conclave is an election of a new pope conducted by the College of Cardinals.
For the election, which began on Wednesday, May 7, the cardinals entered the Sistine Chapel, took an oath of secrecy and sealed the church’s doors. Each cardinal voted by secret ballot. During this process, the cardinal said a prayer and then dropped his ballot in a large chalice, according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
One candidate must receive a two-thirds majority vote to be named the next pope.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to add new information and a new photo.
Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How seagulls became the stars of the papal conclave
