​The 2024 film Conclave, based on Robert Harris’s novel, offers a fictionalized portrayal of the papal election process. While it captures certain aspects of the Vatican’s traditions, several elements deviate from actual procedures. Here’s an analysis of what the film got right and where it diverges from reality that I found on open source.

The film accurately depicts secrecy and rituals, including the conclave’s seclusion and the use of black-and-white smoke to signal voting results. Recent conclaves have employed chemicals to ensure clear smoke signals.​ The portrayal of cardinals casting ballots and their subsequent burning is in line with actual procedures. Each cardinal writes a name on a ballot, which is then burned after being counted.​

The film captures the complex relationships and political maneuvering among cardinals, reflecting the real-life dynamics observed in past conclaves.​ What Conclave got wrong was the arrival of a secret cardinal. The introduction of a cardinal from Kabul, Afghanistan, is fictional. In reality, cardinals chosen “in pectore” (secretly) are not granted voting rights until publicly named, and such a late arrival would be unprecedented.​

Violation of the Seal of Confession in the film’s handling of confessional secrecy is unrealistic. The seal of confession is absolute, and any breach is considered a grave offense within the Church. While ideological differences exist among cardinals, the film amplifies these divisions, portraying them as more extreme than typically observed in actual conclaves.​ The sequence in which ballots are counted and read aloud in the film differs from the actual procedure, where names are read silently before being announced.​ The film’s conclusion, suggesting the election of a female pope, contradicts Church doctrine, which maintains that only baptized men can be ordained and thus elected pope.​

Conclave succeeds in dramatizing the conclave’s atmosphere and certain procedural elements, but it takes significant creative liberties for narrative effect. While it may intrigue viewers with its suspenseful portrayal, it’s essential to approach the film as a work of fiction rather than a documentary representation of the papal election process.​  For me, being raised Catholic from baptism to being married in the Church and everything in between, I liked the film and hated the end. The ending took away from an otherwise good film to something that just angers people. They sullied the movie with “Wokeness” and everything Woke touches goes to shit.

C. Rich

C. Rich is the voice behind America Speaks Ink, home to the America First Movement. As an author, poet, freelance ghostwriter, and blogger, C. Rich brings a “baked-in” perspective shaped by growing up on the streets and beaches of South Florida in the 1970s-1980s and brings a quintessential Generation-X point of view.

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