The Watchers: Vatican Experts Explain What Really Happens in ‘Conclave’

In the new THR feature The Watchers, a group of Catholic Church experts come together to break down what’s actually going on in the new Ralph Fiennes drama.

For anyone who’s seen Conclave, questions abound. Do the Cardinals really scheme like the Plastics in the cafeteria? Can a speech really vault someone to the papacy? And what would happen if the newly elected pope dropped the chromosomal surprise of a lifetime?

THR is here to help. Our new series The Watchers gathers the biggest experts on a film’s world to discuss what they’ve seen. Think of The Watchers as friends you go to dinner with after the screening — only they’ve spent their lives preparing for the chat.

Here’s who we’ve brought together this time. Check them out, then sit back and let them tell you what’s historical and what’s howl-worthy about Conclave. (Warning: Spoilers ahead.)

Before I send you off to the races, tell me: the level of scheming. Is that plausible, or is that Hollywoodized?

MARTENS That kind of discussion all takes place at a conclave or prior to a conclave. They have so many dinners, not to maneuver, but to get to know each other. But the politics are talked about. They were in 2005 with the election of Benedict, and same in 2013.

GIBSON One of the film’s dynamics that does track with a real conclave or College of Cardinals is that a pope never lets on that his health is bad — a pope is never sick until he’s dead — because it would lead to more jockeying. And that’s what you have happen here, where they all start doing that after he dies.

CUMMINGS But there is a general congregation that precedes a conclave as all the cardinals are making their way to Rome. That’s why in the film it says “three weeks later.” A lot of the politicking that we see in the movie [during the conclave] actually happens in that interval. (Laughs.) But I guess “General Congregations” doesn’t make for a good Hollywood movie.

And the campaigning …?

GIBSON They don’t really campaign. They talk about their “vision” for the church. And it just happens to match up perfectly with someone who gave a speech. Cardinals wouldn’t campaign for themselves in any way. They really wouldn’t. They would have other people do it for them. 

CUMMINGS One thing that rang true for me is at the general congregation in 2013, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio gave a speech that got everyone talking. He talked about Christ not only knocking to get in but to get out, that the Church needs to go to the periphery. The speech was a big part of why he was chosen. 

So the Benitez speech that catapulted him to the papacy not only can happen but did happen, as recently as 11 years ago?

DOYLE It happened in 2005, too, when Cardinal Ratzinger presided over the Mass for John Paul II and he had to give the big homily and everyone suddenly knew him because of that.

GIBSON That speech Fiennes gave in the conference room is a little like that Ratzinger speech — he put his notes aside and spoke from the heart. But instead of getting a few votes as Fiennes did, Ratzinger won the election. It was weird they had it in a conference room instead of the Basilica of Saint Peter. I assume they couldn’t CGI the Basilica.