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The papal apartment is closed with purple ribbon and sealed with a papal wax seal

Plot

When Cardinal Lawrence is tasked with leading one of the world's most secret and ancient events, selecting a new Pope, he finds himself at the center of a conspiracy that could shake the very foundation of the Catholic Church. The actions that Cardinal Lawrence and the rest of the cardinals take during the film's conclave process are true and accurate to the Catholic faith and centuries of tradition. After the pope dies, his ring (called the Fisherman's Ring) is removed and destroyed; this is to prevent it from being used to forge the pope's seal on documents. The Vatican makes an official announcement that the throne of the Holy See (the governing body of the Catholic Church) is vacant. The College of Cardinals are sequestered in apartments (Domus Sanctae Marthae, the House of Saint Martha) to eat and sleep between votes.

It is said that Ayendi will be the first African pope

Finally, the windows and doors of the Sistine Chapel, where the actual elections and voting take place, are darkened, closed, and locked to preserve the secrecy of the conclave. Some of the newer and more recent security measures taken in real life are also shown, when the conclave that elected Pope Francis I convened in 2013, the Sistine Chapel was swept for bugs and other electronic listening devices, identity cards were issued to all conclave servants because a reporter disguised as a servant was discovered during the conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI in 2005, all members of the College of Cardinals were asked to surrender their cell phones and other electronic devices, the Vatican's Wi-Fi network was temporarily shut down, and wireless signal jammers were installed in the Sistine Chapel. . The Roman Catholic Church has had three African popes: Victor I (189-199 CE), Miltiades (also known as Melchiades, 311-314 CE), and Gelasius I (492-496 CE). Lawrence: Our faith is a living thing precisely because it goes hand in hand with doubt.

Featured in The 19:00 Project: Episode of December 10, 2024 (2024)

If there were only certainty and no doubt, there would be no mystery. And so there is no need for faith. Let us pray that God will give us a Pope who doubts. And give us a Pope who sins and asks for forgiveness and continues.. Allegri: MisererePerformed by Capella Musicale Pontificia Sistina, Massimo Palombella Courtesy of Deutsche Grammophon GMBH Under license from Universal Music Operations Ltd.

Greetings again from the darkness

It feels like it's been a while since we've had a good old-fashioned, serious, suspenseful, "big"; drama movie with big movie stars. Well, that's exactly what director Edward Berger, fresh off the Oscar-winning ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (2022), delivers with his latest. Writer Peter Straughan (TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY, 2011) adapted Robert Harris' 2016 novel, and the result is a welcome audience-pleasing film that could garner some Oscar consideration. Ralph Fiennes gives what may be his best performance yet. And that's saying something for the much-respected actor who has previously excelled in films like SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993), THE CONSTANT GARDNER (2005), IN BRUGES (2008), A BIGGER SPLASH (2018), and MENU (2022).

As the film opens, the beloved Pope has just passed away

His impressive career is only enhanced by this recent role as Cardinal Lawrence, charged with the daunting task of facilitating the titular Conclave tasked with electing a new Pope. and, as they say, "let the games begin." Of course, these games are all about political maneuvering and power struggles and back-handed promises. Director Berger opts to show us very little of the actual negotiations, and instead lays bare the various iterations of loyalty during each successive secret ballot (of course).