Oh brother! Priest pontificating about the Conclave on Sky News has a sibling best known for VERY ungodly acts… Can YOU tell who it is?

The Catholic conclave will again gather today to vote on who will be the new Pope as the priest brother of a TV megastar popped up live on the news to discuss the candidates. 

Black smoke billowed from the chimney in Rome last night after 133 cardinal-electors who congregated in the Sistine Chapel failed to agree on the next Pontiff. 

Voting will continue today with two rounds in the morning and two rounds in the afternoon with Vatican officials saying smoke should be expected around 1pm local time and again at 7pm.

As the voting went on, and with a camera trained on the chimney, viewers of Sky News praised a composed Italian-American Catholic priest appeared on screen discussing the crucial decision.

Some admitted Priest Robert Sirico looked oddly-familiar but others, who were fans of his much-loved brother, quickly spotted who he was as he predicted the Conclave could be up to five days due to the number in the conclave and the lack of ‘familiarity’ with the candidates.

Both men have the same nose and chin, but unlike his late older brother, Rev. Sirico does not have so-called ‘angel wings’ in his hair.

Father Robert Sirico is the younger sibling of the late Tony Sirico, the actor best known for playing the brilliantly brash and immaculately coiffed Paulie ‘Walnuts’ Gualtieri in the legendary HBO crime series The Sopranos. 

Born in Brooklyn, the Sirico brothers grew up in a traditional Italian-American Catholic household in the East Flatbush and Bensonhurst neighborhoods. 

But the siblings took a different path – one into the clergy, the other into organised crime, a spell in Sing Sing prison and then acting, becoming a favourite of Martin Scorcese and later Sopranos genius David Chase.

Father Robert Sirico (above), 

Tony had his big break came with Goodfellas in 1990, and later, he was cast in the role that would define him: the hilariously paranoid and fiercely loyal Paulie Walnuts in The Sopranos (above)

133 cardinal-electors gather in the Sistine Chapel in Rome as they consider who will be the next head of the Catholic Church following the death of Pope Francis

133 cardinal-electors enter the Sistine Chapel in solemn procession

There were prayers as the men consider who will be the new pontiff

The Cardinals attended a special service as they consider who will be the next pope

Tony Sirico, who passed away in 2022, lived a life that could have been lifted from the pages of a mob script long before he ever stepped in front of a camera. 

Despite their wildly divergent paths — one a beloved screen gangster, the other a devout priest and political thinker — the Sirico brothers remained close. 

Robert announced his brother’s death in 2022 saying: ‘It is with great sadness, but with incredible pride, love and a whole lot of fond memories, that the family of Gennaro Anthony ‘Tony’ Sirico wishes to inform you of his death on the morning of July 8, 2022.’

He continued: ‘I sensed that the end was coming. So as we sat in a private location, I pulled out a Confessional Stole from my pocket. I looked into his eyes and I said, ‘How about that confession?’ 

‘My brother agreed and I did one of the most significant things a priest can do for another human being. I absolved him of all of his sins.’ 

Tony Sirico dropped out of high school, was shot in the leg over a girl as a teenager, and ended up serving in the U.S. Army. 

But that wasn’t the end of his run-ins with the law – far from it. 

Sirico was arrested 28 times on charges ranging from robbery to assault to gun possession. 

In 1971, he was convicted on multiple charges including felony weapons possession and spent 20 months in the notorious Sing Sing prison.

It was there that Tony found his calling, of sorts. A visit from an acting troupe made up of ex-cons sparked something in him, and when he left prison, he began hustling for roles in Hollywood. 

His early work included blink and you’ll miss it appearances in The Godfather: Part II, and bit parts in films like So Fine and The Pick-Up Artist. 

But his big break came with Goodfellas in 1990, and later, he was cast in the role that would define him: the hilariously paranoid and fiercely loyal Paulie Walnuts in The Sopranos.

A favorite of directors like Martin Scorsese and Woody Allen, Sirico built a 40-year career playing mobsters, tough guys, and streetwise New Yorkers. 

Off-screen, he had two children and even launched his own cologne, Paolo Per Uomo, in 2008. He passed away in 2022, aged 79, after battling dementia.

In stark contrast, Robert Sirico, followed a spiritual and highly intellectual path. Initially stepping away from Catholicism in his youth, Robert explored Pentecostal preaching in Seattle during the 1970s, becoming known for his fiery sermons and progressive views. 

Rev. Robert Sirico (middle) on Sky News to discuss the election of a new Pope

A favorite of directors like Martin Scorsese and Woody Allen, Sirico built a 40-year career playing mobsters, tough guys, and streetwise New Yorkers

Funeral for Award wining actor Tony Sirico, celebrated by his brother Robert Sirico at the church

He made headlines when he publicly came out as gay and even presided over Colorado’s first gay marriage ceremony.

But Robert later returned to the Catholic Church, influenced by the writings of St. Augustine and St. John Henry Newman. 

He earned a Master of Divinity from The Catholic University of America in 1987 and was ordained as a Paulist priest two years later.

Robert didn’t fade quietly into the pulpit. He founded the Acton Institute, a libertarian think tank promoting free-market principles rooted in Christian theology. 

Catholic cardinals sent black smoke signals from the world’s most famous chimney above the Sistine Chapel as the first day of conclave ended without a new Pope. 

Hailing from 70 different countries, the 133-strong group of cardinals gathered on Wednesday in the Vatican for the centuries old-ritual to elect the 267th pontiff following the death of Pope Francis last month. 

Thousands of faithful flocked to St. Peter’s Square as they waited for smoke to pour from a narrow flute on the roof of at the end of a day rich in ritual and pageantry.

Groans went up from the crowd as the dark plume came from the burning of the ballot papers.

The cardinals have now retired for the night and will return Thursday morning. 

Up to four votes a day can take place from then, two in the morning and two in the afternoon, with white smoke confirming a new pope has been chosen.

It was unlikely that the cardinals would come to a consensus with the first votes, given that previous elections have taken a number of days.

The longest conclave in history was almost three years, when Pope Gregory X was elected. 

This photograph shows black smoke rising from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel signalling that cardinals failed to elect a new pope in the first ballot of their conclave in the Vatican on May 7, 2025

Faithful react to black smoke rising from the chimney on the Sistine Chapel indicating no decision has been made to elect a new pope

Nuns react at St Peter’s Square as black smoke rises from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel signalling that cardinals failed to elect a new pope in the second ballot of their secret conclave at the Vatican, on May 7, 2025

The shortest lasted just 10 hours and ended with the election of Pope Julius II in 1503.

In recent history the next leader of the Catholic Church is usually elected within two or three days. 

Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday aged 88, was seen as a liberal leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics and many would like to see a similar successor. 

There are three UK cardinals taking part in conclave – Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe and Rome-based Cardinal Arthur Roche.

Cardinal Nichols had called on people to pray for himself and other cardinals as they embark on the secret voting process, adding that he feels ‘quite intimidated’ knowing the world is watching to see who they choose.

The voting cardinals – those aged under 80 who are the only ones eligible to cast a ballot – were urged to ‘invoke the help of the Holy Spirit’ to help them elect a pope ‘whom the Church and humanity need at this difficult and complex turning point in history’, said cardinal Giovanni Battista Re.

As the master of ceremonies Diego Ravelli shouted in Latin ‘Extra Omnes’ (All Out) and the doors of the Sistine chapel were shut, applause broke out from the crowd in front of St Peter’s who were watching on giant screens.

To ensure secrecy and no eavesdropping the Sistine Chapel has been swept for bugs and telecommunications antennas within the Vatican were turned off to prevent cyber hacking.

Catholic cardinals sent black smoke signals last night from the Sistine Chapel as the first day of conclave ended without a new pope

Black smoke rises from the chimney on the Sistine Chapel, indicating no decision has been made to elect a new pope, at the Vatican, May 7, 2025

People gather in St. Peter’s Square on the first day of the conclave to elect the next pope, Vatican City, 07 May 2025

This photo taken and handout on May 7, 2025 by The Vatican Media shows cardinals during a holy mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff, prior to the start of the conclave, at St Peter’s Basilica in The Vatican

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle is a frontrunner this time round and is considered one of the more liberal candidates

Cardinal Turkson, born in Ghana, was the bookies’ favourite at one point when Francis was chosen in 2013. He would be the first black pope

Parolin has worked closely with Pope Francis but has upset some with his views on China

From the Eastern bloc, Erdo is a deep conservative and has spoken against divorced or remarried Catholics receiving holy communion

Favourites currently include the Vatican’s Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, 70, and cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, 67, from the Philippines. 

Francis named 108 of the 133 ‘princes of the church,’ choosing many pastors in his image from far-flung countries like Mongolia, Sweden and Tonga that had never had a cardinal before. 

His decision to surpass the usual limit of 120 cardinal electors and include younger ones from the ‘global south’ — often marginalized countries with lower economic clout — has injected an unusual degree of uncertainty in a process that is always full of mystery and suspense.

Many cardinals hadn’t met until last week and lamented they needed more time to get to know one another, raising questions about how long it might take for one man to secure the two-thirds majority, or 89 ballots, necessary to become the 267th pope.

Addressing cardinals in St Peter’s Basilica, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re said: ‘To pray, by invoking the Holy Spirit, is the only right and proper attitude to take as the cardinal electors prepare to undertake an act of the highest human and ecclesial responsibility and to make a choice of exceptional importance.

‘This is a human act for which every personal consideration must be set aside, keeping in mind and heart only the God of Jesus Christ and the good of the Church and of humanity.’

The pontiff – believed to be someone called to be the successor to St Peter, who was the first pope – will need to be a person who can ‘awaken the consciences of all and the moral and spiritual energies in today’s society, characterised by great technological progress but which tends to forget God’, Cardinal Battista Re added.  

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