33/15
When Cardinal Lawrence is tasked with leading one of the world’s most secret and ancient events, the election of a new pope, he finds himself at the center of a conspiracy that could shake the very foundations of the Catholic Church. The actions of Cardinal Lawrence and the other cardinals during the film’s conclave are faithful and precise to the Catholic faith and centuries-old tradition. After the pope’s death, his ring (called the fisherman’s ring) is removed and destroyed; this is so that it cannot be used to forge the pope’s seal on documents. The Vatican officially announces that the throne of the Holy See (the governing body of the Catholic Church) is vacant. The papal residence is sealed with a purple ribbon and sealed with a papal wax seal. The College of Cardinals is housed in apartments (the Domus Sanctae Marthae, Saint Martha’s House) where they eat and sleep between votes. Finally, the windows and doors of the Sistine Chapel, where the current elections take place and votes are cast, are blacked out, locked, and barred to preserve the secrecy of the conclave. Some of the newer, more sophisticated security measures are also visible in reality, as when the conclave that elected Pope Francis I convened in 2013 to shield the Sistine Chapel from bugs and other electronic eavesdropping devices, all servants of the conclave were given identity cards, because a reporter disguised as a servant was discovered during the conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. Cardinals were required to hand over their cell phones and other electronic devices, the Vatican City Wi-Fi network was temporarily shut down, and wireless jammers were installed in the Sistine Chapel. Ayendi is said to be the first African pope. The Roman Catholic Church has had three African popes: Victor The First (189-199 AD), Miltiades (also known as Melchiades, 311-314 AD), and Gelasius The First (492-496 AD). Lawrence: Our faith is a living thing precisely because it goes hand in hand with doubt. If there were only certainty and no doubt, there would be no mystery. And therefore there is no need for faith. Let us pray that God will give us a doubting pope. And give us a pope who sins and asks for forgiveness and who continues. Featured on The 7PM Project: Episode 10 December 2024 (2024). Allegri: Miserere Performed by: Capella Musicale Pontificia Sistina, Massimo Palombella Courtesy of Deutsche Grammophon GMBH under license from Universal Music Operations Ltd. I have just returned from the theater after seeing "Conclave" a film that I was really excited about and really enjoyed. For most of the film, I was so impressed by the gorgeous cinematography, the fantastic performances, the great score, and the quality costumes and production that I was convinced that this was a 10/10 film. But then, unfortunately, the ending arrived. I think the ending of a film is the most important thing. What would you leave the audience with? What is your final statement to them? Well, in this film, it is so contrived, confusing, and absurd that every final statement is muddled and I left the theater with a bad taste in my mouth. The ending is so unrealistic that it threatens to destroy every frame of what came before. It is done purely to make a statement about the church and shock the audience. Now, that doesn’t ruin the film as a whole (for me anyway), but it does, unfortunately, spoil an otherwise excellent film.