Edward Berger’s sensational papal thriller Conclave took moviegoers by storm last year, showing a side of Catholicism that most people simply have never been exposed to: the ritualistic election of a sitting pope. Now that Cardinals from around the world are about to participate in an actual conclave for real, it seems as though the power of film is on full display… because some of the real life religious leaders who will participate have looked to the film for guidance.
According to a papal cleric involved in the conclave ritual who spoke to politics and current events outlet Politico, Berger’s film — which stars legendary actor Ralph Fiennes as the dean of the College of Cardinals, otherwise known as the leader of a conclave — is being seen as “remarkably accurate even by Cardinals.” The cleric also remarked that “some [Cardinals] have watched it in the cinema.”
Pope Francis died in late April, less than six months after the film was released. His death triggered the conclave process, in which 133 high-ranking clerics of the church throughout the globe will meet in the Sistine Chapel to petition and vote for the next leader of Catholicism worldwide.
The majority of those who will be in Rome beginning on Wednesday, May 7 were appointed by Pope Francis himself, and thus have never participated in this ritual before — so it’s actually not all that surprising that the film would give them some insight they otherwise might have a hard time getting, especially those from smaller and more remote parishes throughout the world.
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
