Conclave vs reality: How accurate is the Pope election process seen in the film?

Edward Berger's 2024 film Conclave has gotten several things accurate about the Pope election process, and some things not quite. The film is derived from a novel written by Robert Harris, named 'Conclave.'

The Academy and BAFTA-winning film has been loved by the audience and critics alike but also received flak from many orthodox institutions for challenging traditional norms in regard to how the film ends.

In the midst of the heartbreaking news of Pope Francis's demise, it appears as if, at this current time, this film stands to be even more relevant. The film focuses on the complicated political atmosphere in a church as we witness the events that follow during the papal conclave after the passing of the Pope.

Let us unravel more details about which things Conclave captured right about the Pope election process and which things it did not.

Conclave vs reality: How accurate is the Pope election process seen in the film?

Many experts are of the belief that the film has largely depicted a lot of events at the Papal Conclave to be quite accurate.

As per reports at NPR, Rev. Thomas Reese, who serves as a journalist as well as a Catholic Jesuit Priest felt the film has portrayed the events in the election process 'very well,' as he spoke:

"The voting procedure was done very well,"

"The urns that are used were perfect replicas of what is actually used in the burning of the ballots."

Rev. Thomas Reese is a UC Berkeley alum who holds a Ph.D. in political science and has written extensively on the Church.

As reported in Religion News, Kathleen Sprows Cummings, who is serving as a history and American studies professor at the University of Notre Dame, has also been of the opinion that the film has gotten several things accurate.

Professor Cummings also mentions the humanness of the characters showcased in the film being quite accurate as well. The cardinals in the film were not particularly 'holier than thou'; they were flawed humans with complexities, as she further states:

“Whenever you have human beings, you have sinful behavior,”

“The jockeying and selfishness and the kinds of things that maybe struck us as a bit unsavory is real”

Kathleen Sprows Cummings makes a mention about the importance of a single speech and the impact it had on the cardinals during the pope election process that has 'really rung true' in the film. She further cited examples including the speeches made by Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

Cummings also noted the portrayal of Isabella Rossellini's role as Sister Agnes, where she talks about a particular dialogue being absolutely true at its core. In the film, Sister Agnes utters a thought-provoking statement that goes as follows: "Although we sisters are supposed to be invisible, God has nevertheless given us eyes and ears."

While speaking to NPR, Caetlin Benson-Allott, who serves at Georgetown University as the director of Film and Media Studies, has also noted the portrayal of women in Conclave. He states:

"What I really liked about that is you see both sides, you see the possibility for the nuns to take a more active role, as Cardinal Bellini suggests that they should, and you also see the history of s*xual abuse and also the exploitation of women in the Catholic Church"

Along with these, the character portrayed by Ralph Fiennes, Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, has also been commended by many experts. For instance, pop culture critic Jim McDermott attributes words such as "human" and "true" to his character, as per Religion News.

Which aspects did Conclave depict inaccurately about the pope election?

While Conclave has successfully captured many accuracies in relation to the papal conclave, there have been some aspects that the film has been inaccurate in its depiction as well.

One of the biggest examples of it includes Carlos Diehz's character of Cardinal Benitez's election process.

Even though Rev. Thomas Reese agrees to several depictions in the film being accurate, as per NPR, he also pointed out this particular inaccuracy. As per his explanation, he states that in the real world, a cardinal in pectore is selected to partake in the election only if the Pope includes their name in the announcement. However, in the film, the Pope did not mention Cardinal Benitez's name before passing away.

'In Pectore' means something that is meant to be confidential. In the Latin language, it means 'in the heart.'

Reese also mentions in Religion News about more inaccuracies in the film, some of which include

The omission of the second vote in the election and the act of burning the votes by the cardinals
The soft treatment of the infringement of the confession seal.
The outfit choice of the cardinals: In reality they wear choir robes, but in the film they are donning Mass vestments.

Even though Jim McDermott agrees with the portrayal of Cardinal Thomas Lawrence in the film, he mentions in Religion News the inaccuracy in the geographic locations from where the cardinals belong. In reality, not as many cardinals from the USA and Europe are present as showcased in the movie, as he mentions:

“ It’s ridiculous that the film focuses on Americans to the extent that it does”

Another imperative point has been mentioned in Religion News by Villanova University's professor of theology and religious studies, Massimo Faggioli. As per his notes, he explains that the film does not include the general assemblies that are actually held within the span of two weeks before the election commences.

At the same time, Faggioli also acknowledged the challenges of translating certain real-life events into movies, as he further said:

“It’s very hard to render in the movie.”

He also mentioned the way conversations take place between Cardinals, and how different it was in the movie as opposed to real life. Faggioli mentioned that the conversations showcased in the film were not encrypted as they happen in real life. He attributes words such as “coded” and "diplomatic" when he talks about the way real-life Cardinals' conversations go.