Some of the 133 cardinals who will be sequestered starting Wednesday to pick the late Pope Francis’ successor prepared for the millennia-old voting process by watching none other than the film Conclave. The Academy-Award winning movie stars Ralph Fiennes as the dean of the College of Cardinals who must oversee a fractious group of clerics trying to reach the required two-thirds consensus to select a new pope. Just like in real life, the electors must decide whether to choose a pontiff who is a progressive liberal, social moderate or staunch traditionalist, with church scandals and the previous pope’s legacy looming large over the proceedings. A cleric told Politico that cardinals consider the film remarkably accurate and a valuable research tool for gaining insight into the highly secretive process. About 80 percent of the cardinals who will be voting on the next pope were appointed by Pope Francis himself, making this their first conclave. Like in the film, many of the cardinals come from far-flung dioceses and haven’t yet navigated the Vatican’s notorious politicking. At least one conservative German cardinal, however, has warned his fellow electors not to take the movie too seriously.
