Of all the ways to prepare for one of the most sacred, secretive rituals in the Catholic Church, “watch a movie” probably isn’t high on the list.
And yet, just before he stepped into the Sistine Chapel to cast his vote in the papal conclave, Cardinal Robert Prevost, now known to the world as Pope Leo XIV, did exactly that.
The film? Conclave, a slick, quietly tense thriller about exactly what he was about to experience.
It’s like watching 12 Angry Men before jury duty, if jury duty involved 100+ cardinals, centuries of tradition, and the fate of 1.3 billion people.
Directed by Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front), and based on the Robert Harris novel, Conclave is set almost entirely behind closed Vatican doors. A pope has died. The cardinals gather. Secrets, rivalries, and whispers of scandal fill the air. What begins as a solemn duty turns into something closer to a high-stakes chess match, with an unexpected twist waiting in the wings.
Pope Leo XIV’s brother said he had just finished watching the movie when asked if he was ready for the conclave. Maybe it helped. After all, he became the first U.S.-born pontiff in history, on just the fourth round of voting.
So, if you’re in the mood for something sharp, suspenseful, and slightly surreal now that it’s got the papal stamp of approval, Conclave is streaming on Prime Video.
It might not make you pope.
But it’ll make you feel like a fly on the Sistine wall.