Cardinals from around the world are currently gathering at the Vatican to undergo a conclave and elect the next Pope.
With the garnering interest surrounding the election process, a lot of people worldwide have been watching the 2024 movie Conclave and getting an idea about how the process works and what could potentially happen when the real-life event takes place.
Here are the five things that Conclave gets right about the papal election.
Highly Secretive Process
Conclave portrayed the papal election process as highly secretive, where the cardinals are locked inside the Sistine Chapel and have no outside communication by any means.
This is also the case in real life, as the cardinals are not allowed to use their phones or talk with the media/outsiders during the entire process to keep the integrity of the election and avoid any outside influence.
How Cardinals Cast Their Vote
As depicted in the film, the cardinals cast their vote by writing the name on a piece of paper, folding it, praying in front of an altar, and dropping it into the chalice.
It is the same case in the actual conclave process, and the voting is being treated as a sacred duty for all the cardinals in the room. A two-thirds majority of the overall votes is needed to elect the new Pope.
The Rituals
The rituals that were depicted in Conclave are pretty much accurate to the real-life process, whether it's the prayers that they conduct in each voting session or the black/white smoke signal to the outside world.
While the film might be fictional, Vatican experts and researchers have lauded the film for its mostly accurate portrayal of the rituals that happen before and during a conclave, even if the story has some twists and turns.
Length of Conclave
In the movie, it took three days for the cardinals to elect a new Pope after several sessions and intense internal political drama among the main characters.
That is also the usual length in a real-life conclave. During the elections of Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI, it only took them two days to name the new Pope.
It is likely going to be the case this year, although more cardinals are participating this time than in the previous papal elections, so there is still a possibility that it could take place for more than two days.
Internal Politics
Conclave depicted a lot of internal politics happening during the papal election process, whether it's the backstabbing or exposing the wrong deeds from the past of the leading contenders.
While that kind of drama may not be realistic in an actual conclave, it's unavoidable for internal politics to happen during the secretive process.
"Keep in mind that cardinals are human beings. They’re political animals as well. They will be meeting in various places. You know, Cardinal X will say to Cardinal Y, I’ve been talking about this to Cardinal Z," Philip Pullella, a Vatican expert and author, explained to TODAY.
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