This anticipation with its attendant total secrecy surrounding it creates a riveting plot with touches of suspense that thrills the waiting faithful. Especially those who focus on mystery because of uncertainty and doubt. Eventually, of course, sooner or later, the Dean of the College will step out into the Vatican balcony and announce comfortingly in Latin: “Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum. Habemus Papam.” That is, “I announce to you with great joy that the Pope has been elected.”

Until then, however, the particular process of the present electors piques the interest and excites the imagination of countless ordinary believers. After all, the election of a pope through the centuries is accompanied by a wealth of written material describing that in one of the high points in the unshakeable functioning of the Church, there is no shortage of conspiracies, agreements, alliances, rivalries and balances that are upset from one moment to the next. It makes sense.

As in the mundane, so in spiritual authority, it is very difficult to avoid factions, intrigues, rivalries, conciliations, consensuses and divergences in order to enable a single person to direct a structurally vast institution.

Let alone to be free of all kinds of slanderous media leaks within the majestically vast edifice of the global Roman Catholic Church. Inevitably, the upcoming votes – at the rate of four a day, two in the morning and two in the afternoon – are going to be more about the long-term credibility of the new papal leadership than about the differences and mediations between conservatives and reformers, self-centred and activists, modernists and traditionally intransigent cardinals.

All the proceedings will unfold behind the jealously guarded “inner” space, behind the locked doors – from the Latin con clavis meaning with a key – of the Capella Sistina chapel, with its magnificent frescoes philosophically painted by Michelangelo. Away, however, as tradition dictates, from the gaze of the faithful and the majority of the lower levels of the hierarchy of the Church itself. The details, however, down to the most trivial have been adjusted to perfection.

From the breaks they will devote to lunch and evening dinner – where secret negotiations are customary – in their guesthouse in St Martha’s House next to St Peter’s Basilica to the exact number of the electoral body, which is made up of 133 cardinals, with two of them absent for health reasons. The quorum is set at 2/3 of those present, so 89 votes will be needed to elect the 267th Pope.

World-wide charm

The interest of the excited public, however, is focused on the course of action and the maneuvers, with or without the desired intervention of the Holy Spirit, within the conclave. The narrative structure of the event, the lacey connection of threads, codes and rules, and the arcane details of this special timeless gathering vividly draw the attention of the public as it exerts its fascination across the globe.

Which has not left the fictional prowess of 7th Art unmoved. It thus engaged the cinema which delivered some brilliant films to the big screen. Utilizing to spectacular effect the iconic red vestments of the cardinals with their 33 buttons – one for each year of Christ’s life – extending from their necks to their ankles and the silk belt recalling their vow of chastity.

Most recent film

Most recent, but also relatively timely, is the Conclave film directed by Edward Berger. Based on the book of the same name by British, non-Catholic, author Robert Harris, the plot resonates unexpectedly with some current actual facts. Such as the sudden death of a pope named in the narrative as Gregory VII, and the differing positions that clash in the election of his successor to the papacy.

With an excellent international cast (Rafe Fines, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow and Isabella Rossellini as a nun), the thriller “Conclave” focuses on the efforts of the chief British cardinal (Fines), who introduces himself as impartial and carefully navigates between the micro-manipulations of conflicting blocks of electors. He in a typical line says: “Let us pray that God will give us a pope who doubts. And may he give us a Pope who sins and asks for forgiveness and who continues.”

The narrative is further punctuated with a poignant phrase that echoes the sad reality by hurting it like an unfathomable ocean of suppressed tears: “We had a Pope who was in the Hitler Youth and fought with the Nazis. We had Popes who were accused of conspiring with communists and fascists. We have had Popes who ignored reports of the most horrific sexual abuse of children by various priests!”

Finally, according to the fictional scenario, the College is surprised by the arrival of a missionary from Kabul who was appointed cardinal by the late Pope before his death. He is admitted to the Conclave, which elects him Pope by an overwhelming majority in the seventh vote.

What follows is a shockingly upsetting revelation about his physical peculiarity, which he decides to keep secret, trusting that God inspired the results by Divine Providence. There is something almost sarcastically sacrilegious about this drama, but as if it is in sync with Pope Francis’ courageous message of progressive tolerance.

That is, just as Jesus met with “sinners”, so all can sit at the table of the Church. By extension, why should not a priest committed to humility be elected by the lay clergy with a disadvantaged and artlessly ambiguous constitution to the office of Bishop of Rome? However, this only happens in the movies. As any damage to the moral reputation of the Church would in fact be insurmountable.

Other films with a similar theme have been made in the past. In 1963, Oto Preminger signed on to direct the black-and-white film The Cardinal, about the rise of a Boston proletarian, the son of an Irish Catholic family, who goes from being a theological school student to becoming a bishop.

Taboo Topics

The story through flashbacks touches on several taboo social issues for the then Catholic Church. Such as the marriage of priests, sex outside of marriage, abortion, racial bigotry, the rise of Nazism and war. The Conclave will also attend the 1963 film “The Fisherman’s Shoes” (The Man from the Kremlin) directed by Englishman Michael Anderson, starring Lawrence Olivier and Anthony Quinn. Set during the Cold War, it tells the story of a cardinal who, after 20 years in prison, leaves the gulag and makes his way from Russia to Rome, where he is elected Pope.

Based on the novel of the same name by Australian novelist Morris West, the film tells the real-life adventure of Yosip Slipi, a Ukrainian cardinal who was released under Khrushchev from Soviet forced labour camps and sent to Rome where he remained for the rest of his life.

With its mawkish narrative and simplistic sermons, the film flopped at the box office. Theological validity requires as much as some mastery in its portrayal of the proceedings. By contrast, “Habemus Papam” (We Have a Pope!), directed in 2011 by Italian Nani Moretti, captured a different perspective on the conclave.

He described it comically from the point of view of being seen by a reluctant cardinal who, against his will, is elected Pope. A psychoanalyst is called in to help him to overcome his panic. A futile effort. Terrified of the duties of his leading religious title, he decides to escape into the “real” world.

He rushes urgently away from established ritual, tightly controlled procedures and stifling etiquette protocols, crossing the threshold into an ordinary everyday life. The role of the hesitant and psychologically fragile Pope is played by a wonderful Michel Picoli.

However, any cinematic depiction, however exquisitely crafted in terms of visual precision, absolute filmic clarity and obsession with dramatic detail, rarely reflects the dynamics and energy that actually develop within the bosom of a Conclave.

There coexist, for nearly 2,000 years, unchanged the “cornerstones of doctrine”, unshaken the “ecclesiastical structures”, consciously immovable “the certainty of truth in faith”. The expressive artistic creativity addressed from the screen to the gaze of those “on the outside” does not determine or discount the attitudes of normality of the “inside” cardinals.

Who, whether reformist or traditionalist, identify themselves under their fundamentally shared religious culture, embrace with minor differences the same values, and are distinguished by their clear mental constitution towards faith. Inevitably, 55 European cardinals, 16 North Americans, 21 Asians, 21 Latin Americans, 18 Africans and 4 from Oceania are called to the ballot box to elect the new pontiff.

Despite the groupings, intrigues, short lists of manipulation and possible revanchism, they are required to demonstrate a spirit of sincere church unity and organic fellowship. With the help of the Holy Spirit, the new Pope, as an ark in a flood of discord, is asked to respond effectively to the current challenges. With an openness to the world, a proactive look at issues of sexual morality and other sensitive issues that society already tends to inculcate.

Accolades

Not the easiest task when criticisms are triggered against the Catholic clergy for sexual harassment, financial embezzlement, discrimination against women, etc. The late Pope Francis attempted and in part is judged to have succeeded in blazing a promising trail. Already Martin Scorsese has directed a documentary of conversations between himself and the Pontiff, including his last interview. Although a screening date has yet to be announced, the filmmakers involved in the shoot speak of it as evidence of the outgoing pope’s enduring conviction. Who in the journey of a lifetime dedicated himself to carrying out a constructive work for the benefit of all defenseless people indiscriminately.

In the same positive context of service, expectations are being developed that the new Pope will prove himself worthy of it. As long as his ambition does not equate to the moth of holiness, as the character of a cardinal struggling to figure out whether or not he wants to be Pope says in the movie “Conclave”.

Ask me anything

Explore related questions