In the next few days, the cardinals who are under 80 years will meet in the Vatican to choose the successor of Pope Francis.
The procedures, which are carried out with the greatest discretion, will take place months after Hollywood presented a fictional papal choice in Edward Berger’s film
Conclave
. The name of the film comes from the secret meeting in which Catholic cardinals choose the next leader of the Catholic Church.
The film, which raised 115 million dollars in the world, offers a look inside a process that in real life develops under strict security measures that guarantee confidentiality. The film was “quite successful, except for some things,” said Kurt Martens, a professor of canon law at the Catholic University of America.
Conclave It has been very held and received the highest awards both in the Actors Union Awards and in the British Cinema Academy awards, in addition to winning the Oscar for the best adapted script.
This is what happens in the movie (eye: come small Spoilers) and what papal experts point out that it portrays rightly.
What is it about?
The film begins with the death of a fictional pope without a name and follows the process and drama of a papal choice.
It stars Ralph Fiennes such as Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, dean of the Cardenalicio College, with Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Lucian Msamati and Sergio Castellitto playing the main papal applicants.
The film shows the cardinals during numerous voting sessions, meals in a shared cafeteria and the rooms of the papal palace where they are held.
Although many experts have praised the film, saying that it is one of the most accurate representations of the conclave, Piotr H. Kosicki, associate professor of history at the University of Maryland, warned that “at a certain level, very few people outside the Cardinal College can really talk about reality” of what happens behind closed doors.
What rituals and voting processes are described?
Many of the rituals that appear in the film – the prayers that are prayed, the burning of ballots, spin with a needle the ballots – are “more or less correct,” Kosicki said.
During the voting process, each cardinal writes a person’s name on a rectangular ballot. The votes are announced one by one aloud and each ballot is threaded with a single needle before being burned. If a consensus of two thirds is not reached, the smoke issued by the chimney of the Sistine Chapel is black.
Four rounds of daily voting are allowed. When a Pope has been chosen by a two -thirds majority, the smoke of the fireplace is white.
However, some rituals shown in the film are carried out in a mixture of English and Spanish. Actually, “in the Vatican it prays in Italian or Latin, and Punto,” Kosicki said.
Is the political game so ruthless?
Although it is difficult to know exactly what happens within the confines of the conclave, choosing a Pope is like choosing a head of state, said Massimo Faggioli, Professor of History at the University of Villanova.
The political maneuvers begin seriously once the Pope has died, during the period called vacancy. Some cardinals agree to give interviews in the media to raise their profile or that of others. Groups meet to maintain formal and informal conversations, and there are general congregations in which all cardinals discuss the state of the Church, as well as the possible successors.
“This time, I think it is an open conclave, which means that there is no natural successor, or there is no cardinal that is clearly the favorite,” said Faggioli.
Is it usual for the cardinals to pass several rounds without reaching a decision?
The word conclave derives from Latin words comwhich means “together”, and Claviswhich means “key”, and the process was created at the beginning of the Middle Ages to ensure that a new Pope could be chosen quickly. The cardinals make a secret oath and are not allowed to leave the area of the conclave until a new Pope is chosen, except in some unusual circumstances.
The movie Conclave It shows the choice of a Pope for three dramatic days and seven votes. In the last pair of centuries, the conclaves have not lasted more than four days, said Faggioli. Pope Benedict XVI was chosen in two days in 2005, as well as Pope Francis in 2013.
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“Everyone likes things to go fast, because it is a sample of unity,” Kosicki said. “And that means that a kind of strong message to the outside world is sent, to the 1400 million Catholics.”