When Pope Francis passed away on 21 April, aged 88, from double pneumonia and a stroke, it marked the end of an era for the Catholic Church—and the beginning of a new one. For the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics, it is a time of mourning. But also of reckoning.
What comes next is steeped in tradition and ritual: the papal conclave. In the coming two to three weeks, 120-odd cardinals under the age of 80 will gather in the Sistine Chapel to elect the next spiritual leader of the world’s largest Christian denomination. They will vote in secret, multiple times a day, until a two-thirds majority is reached.
Coinciding with these real-life events, the Oscar-winning film Conclave has taken on new resonance. The 2024 drama, directed by Edward Berger, imagines what unfolds inside the conclave after a pope dies.
A fiction that feels real
If all of this sounds like a thriller, you're not far off. Conclave, the 2024 hit film now set to stream on Prime Video, offers a fictionalised but deeply resonant take on the process. Inspired by Robert Harris’s 2016 novel and real events—including the leaked diary from the 2005 conclave—it follows Cardinal Lawrence (played by Ralph Fiennes) as he navigates the treacherous waters of Vatican politics following the death of a pope.
Fiennes' performance anchors the story with quiet tension. As dean of the College of Cardinals, he must organise the conclave while confronting secrets and scandals buried deep within the Church hierarchy.
“I think the film asks the question: Who is the person that is best? Who is the right person to take this extraordinary position of spiritual leadership?” Fiennes told TODAY.com in October 2024. “And what we want them to be spiritually, to have a great spiritual foundation as a person.”
Isabella Rossellini, who plays Sister Agnes, was also Oscar-nominated for her role—the first such nod of her career. Her portrayal draws from personal experience.
“I went to school with the nuns. I grew up in Rome, so the Vatican and the debate of the Vatican are very present,” she said. “But I also knew that my nuns... are not submissive at all. So I felt very confident in playing Sister Agnes with a lot of dignity and strength, because I’d seen it in my life.”
“This is such a personal film for me, so to hear how it has connected with and entertained so many movie lovers around the world makes me very happy,” said director Edward Berger in February 2025, following Conclave’s Oscars success, per Variety.
That success now feels eerily prophetic.
Secrets, saints, and schemers
The film’s dramatic core lies not in action but in deliberation. Set behind closed doors, Conclave unveils a power struggle that’s less divine revelation and more political chess match. Each cardinal comes bearing ideology, ambition, or both. With each ballot cast, the secrets deepen.
Bill Cavanaugh, professor of Catholic Studies at DePaul University, put it plainly: “The cardinals will lock themselves into the Sistine Chapel and discuss and vote on the next pope... A papal candidate needs two-thirds of the vote of the voting cardinals to be elected.”
And only cardinals under the age of 80 may vote.
While the real conclave will be devoid of cameras, audiences can now get a stylised preview through Conclave, which raked in over $100 million at the global box office and won Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars.
How to watch 'Conclave' in the wake of Pope Francis’ death
Conclave first debuted on Peacock but has since moved platforms due to Universal’s deal with Amazon. It will begin streaming on Prime Video from midnight (ET) on 22 April.
Those with an Amazon Prime subscription can watch at no extra cost. Others can sign up for a free 30-day trial to stream the film. Alternatively, it’s available to rent for $5.99 or purchase on services like YouTube, Apple TV, Google Play and Fandango At Home.
The film left Peacock earlier this month in preparation for its Prime Video release, in line with an 18-month split streaming arrangement between Universal and Amazon, as reported by Deadline.
Fiction meets faith—At a turning point
What Conclave offers, especially now, is more than entertainment. It’s a meditation on power, belief, and the kind of spiritual leader the world needs at this juncture. In a Church divided between traditionalists and reformists, the question looms: will the cardinals choose continuity, or change?
As Pope Francis is laid to rest and black smoke rises over St. Peter’s, audiences might find themselves thinking less about who will be pope—and more about who should be.
Until then, Conclave offers a window into the storm before the white smoke.
What comes next is steeped in tradition and ritual: the papal conclave. In the coming two to three weeks, 120-odd cardinals under the age of 80 will gather in the Sistine Chapel to elect the next spiritual leader of the world’s largest Christian denomination. They will vote in secret, multiple times a day, until a two-thirds majority is reached.
Coinciding with these real-life events, the Oscar-winning film Conclave has taken on new resonance. The 2024 drama, directed by Edward Berger, imagines what unfolds inside the conclave after a pope dies.
A fiction that feels real
If all of this sounds like a thriller, you're not far off. Conclave, the 2024 hit film now set to stream on Prime Video, offers a fictionalised but deeply resonant take on the process. Inspired by Robert Harris’s 2016 novel and real events—including the leaked diary from the 2005 conclave—it follows Cardinal Lawrence (played by Ralph Fiennes) as he navigates the treacherous waters of Vatican politics following the death of a pope.
Fiennes' performance anchors the story with quiet tension. As dean of the College of Cardinals, he must organise the conclave while confronting secrets and scandals buried deep within the Church hierarchy.
“I think the film asks the question: Who is the person that is best? Who is the right person to take this extraordinary position of spiritual leadership?” Fiennes told TODAY.com in October 2024. “And what we want them to be spiritually, to have a great spiritual foundation as a person.”
Isabella Rossellini, who plays Sister Agnes, was also Oscar-nominated for her role—the first such nod of her career. Her portrayal draws from personal experience.
“I went to school with the nuns. I grew up in Rome, so the Vatican and the debate of the Vatican are very present,” she said. “But I also knew that my nuns... are not submissive at all. So I felt very confident in playing Sister Agnes with a lot of dignity and strength, because I’d seen it in my life.”
“This is such a personal film for me, so to hear how it has connected with and entertained so many movie lovers around the world makes me very happy,” said director Edward Berger in February 2025, following Conclave’s Oscars success, per Variety.
That success now feels eerily prophetic.
Secrets, saints, and schemers
The film’s dramatic core lies not in action but in deliberation. Set behind closed doors, Conclave unveils a power struggle that’s less divine revelation and more political chess match. Each cardinal comes bearing ideology, ambition, or both. With each ballot cast, the secrets deepen.
Bill Cavanaugh, professor of Catholic Studies at DePaul University, put it plainly: “The cardinals will lock themselves into the Sistine Chapel and discuss and vote on the next pope... A papal candidate needs two-thirds of the vote of the voting cardinals to be elected.”
And only cardinals under the age of 80 may vote.
While the real conclave will be devoid of cameras, audiences can now get a stylised preview through Conclave, which raked in over $100 million at the global box office and won Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars.
How to watch 'Conclave' in the wake of Pope Francis’ death
Conclave first debuted on Peacock but has since moved platforms due to Universal’s deal with Amazon. It will begin streaming on Prime Video from midnight (ET) on 22 April.
Those with an Amazon Prime subscription can watch at no extra cost. Others can sign up for a free 30-day trial to stream the film. Alternatively, it’s available to rent for $5.99 or purchase on services like YouTube, Apple TV, Google Play and Fandango At Home.
The film left Peacock earlier this month in preparation for its Prime Video release, in line with an 18-month split streaming arrangement between Universal and Amazon, as reported by Deadline.
Fiction meets faith—At a turning point
What Conclave offers, especially now, is more than entertainment. It’s a meditation on power, belief, and the kind of spiritual leader the world needs at this juncture. In a Church divided between traditionalists and reformists, the question looms: will the cardinals choose continuity, or change?
As Pope Francis is laid to rest and black smoke rises over St. Peter’s, audiences might find themselves thinking less about who will be pope—and more about who should be.
Until then, Conclave offers a window into the storm before the white smoke.
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