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The Catholic Church has long stood as one of the world's most enduring institutions — a symbol of hope for billions, but also a magnet for controversy.
Over the years, it has grappled with scandals, abuses of power, political entanglements, and crises of faith that have tested its moral authority. The papacy itself, while venerated, has not been spared from the mud.
Now, with the death of Pope Francis, the world once again turns its eyes towards the secretive and sacred process of electing a new pope.
Edward Berger’s ‘Conclave’ (2024), a political thriller adapted from Robert Harris’s novel — could not have landed at a more poignant time.
But as millions reflect on the passing of and wonder what happens next, ‘Conclave’ begs a compelling question: how close to reality are the scenarios it so dramatically portrays?
In the film, viewers are plunged into the closed-off world of the College of Cardinals, as 118 red-robed men prepare to elect a new leader of the Church.
Behind the solemn rituals and ancient traditions lies a swirling storm of personal ambition, ideological battles, and devastating secrets.
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Ralph Fiennes anchors the drama with a layered, emotionally charged performance as Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, the Dean trying to guide the conclave through growing chaos.
Yet how much of this portrayal reflects real Vatican life? Officially, the conclave is tightly bound by centuries of tradition and strict protocols.
Mobile phones, outside communications, and private deals are forbidden. Cardinals take solemn oaths, and proceedings are meant to be conducted with a profound sense of prayerful discernment.
On paper, the election of a pope is a spiritual act, not a political one.
However, as history shows — and as ‘Conclave’ understands — the human element is impossible to separate from the divine. Different factions, shaped by geography, ideology, and visions for the future of the Church, have always existed.
Traditionalists and progressives, European cardinals and those from the Global South, all bring different hopes into the Sistine Chapel.
The competing visions captured in the film, therefore, are grounded in real dynamics witnessed during the elections of both Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.
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Where ‘Conclave’ leans more into fiction is with its bold narrative twists. The idea of a late revelation involving a secretly appointed cardinal, carrying a potentially seismic secret, is thrilling but unlikely in real life.
Although the Church does allow for in cardinals — created secretly to protect them from political harm — their identities are rarely so dramatically revealed during an election.
Moreover, the canonical law governing who can be elected and how votes proceed leaves little room for the kind of chaos portrayed in the film.
Still, the movie’s atmosphere feels chillingly authentic. The tension, the weight of history, the suffocating intensity inside the Sistine Chapel — Berger captures all of it with brilliant precision.
Even without wild scandals, the real-life pressure on the cardinals during a conclave is immense. They know they are not simply choosing a leader, but shaping the direction of global Catholicism for decades to come.
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In the wake of Pope Francis’s death, ‘Conclave’ feels even more than a fictional thriller; it feels like a mirror held up to the very human drama now unfolding behind Vatican walls.
As the world waits for white smoke to rise again over St Peter’s Square, 'Conclave' offers a compelling, if dramatised, glimpse into the mystery, power, and humanity of the papal election.