in Vatican City, the process begins after a pope dies or resigns.
This practice of physical isolation was not always the norm. In the early centuries of the Church, the Bishop of Rome was chosen by the clergy and people of Rome, and later heavily influenced by secular Roman families and European monarchs. The elections could drag on for months, or even years, as factions vied for power. Conclave
The film’s explosive third-act revelation—that Cardinal Benitez was assigned female at birth and has been living as a man, making him technically intersex—has sparked considerable debate. Critics accuse the film of a cheap, sensationalist twist. However, a close reading reveals it as the logical culmination of the film’s philosophical arc. Throughout the conclave, the cardinals have debated “tradition” versus “change,” but all have been trapped within a binary framework. Benitez represents a third option: the mystery of creation itself. His body is not a deception but a testament to nature’s complexity. When Lomeli asks Benitez why he kept this secret, Benitez replies, “God kept it secret. I merely lived it.” in Vatican City, the process begins after a
History’s fastest in the modern era elected Pius XII in 1939 (one day). The longest in the 20th century lasted five days. The Conclave of 2013 that elected Pope Francis took five ballots over two days. The elections could drag on for months, or
This is not an endorsement of identity politics; it is a profoundly Christian parable about the limits of human judgment. The cardinals spent days seeking a man without sin, a man of certainty, a man who fit their narrow categories. Benitez’s body, existing outside those categories, reveals the folly of their quest. The final shot—Benitez standing alone on the balcony, the white smoke rising behind him—is not triumphant. He looks terrified. In that terror, the film finds its grace. The true leader is not the one who claims to know God’s will, but the one who feels the weight of their own inadequacy before it.