Cardinals are watching ‘Conclave’ the movie for guidance....

px_eliezer_

NO POLITICS (ETC) PLEASE….

This is just bizarre folks, what a strange world today.

Faced with the highly secretive and complex ritual of choosing a new pope, Catholic cardinals have turned to Hollywood to learn how it could all play out.

As crazy as it might sound, some of the 133 high-ranking clerics set to enter the Sistine Chapel when the conclave starts on Wednesday have looked to the Ralph Fiennes movie ― handily titled just “Conclave” ― for pointers.

https://www.politico.eu/article/cardinals-watch-conclave-movie-for-real-life-guidance/

For most of the voting Cardinals, this is their first conclave, so maybe this is not so strange.

Sparkchaser

Black smoke from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel after day one.

https://www.newsweek.com/new-pope-update-black-smoke-vatican-cardinals-vote-2069199

urbanriot

px_eliezer_

This is just bizarre folks, what a strange world today.

No, it’s not all related to ‘today’ or being a strange world today, it’s tradition that dates back a couple hundred years or more depending on who you ask and it’s been modified to better ‘transmit’ the results which a lot of Romans are waiting for with baited breath.

From the New York Times:

Frederic J. Baumgartner wrote that the first evidence he found of smoke being used as a signal in a papal election was from 1823. The cardinals’ ballots were burned in previous conclaves, he wrote, but there was no record that the smoke was intended to inform the outside world of a new pope.

The smoke comes from the burning of the ballots, as well as any notes that the cardinals have taken, which are placed in a cast-iron stove after each round of voting. (One round is held the first day, and four each day from then on, with two in the morning and two in the afternoon.) The ballots are burned after two rounds of voting, unless a pope is chosen.

Until this century, wet straw was added to the stove to create the smoke’s white color. But it wasn’t always reliable.

As The New York Times reported, during the 1958 conclave, white smoke seemed to appear twice during the second day of voting. That created confusion because, in fact, a pope had not yet been selected.

Link for more info: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/07/world/europe/black-smoke-white-smoke-vatican-pope-vote-conclave.html

Sparkchaser

urbanriot during the 1958 conclave, white smoke seemed to appear twice

I thought there was something more recent, where the smoke turned white to black.

Anyway, in 1958 I was in 5th-6th grade in Catholic school. I’m sure we didn’t have any “up to the minute news” 😄

px_eliezer_

urbanriot No, it’s not all related to ‘today’ or being a strange world today, it’s tradition that dates back a couple hundred years or more depending on who you ask and it’s been modified to better ‘transmit’ the results which a lot of Romans are waiting for with baited breath.

I did NOT comment on the smoke….!

That was someone else.

RATHER, I commented on the report that the Cardinals in the conclave, were themselves watching the MOVIE “Conclave”.

HELLFIRE

px_eliezer_ For most of the voting Cardinals, this is their first conclave, so maybe this is not so strange.

“Who Do I Vote For?” and “How Do I Vote?” What, no one’s got a manual for the latter? 😃 😃

I’m partial to The Borgias with Jeremy Irons myself…

Regards

ZZZZZZZ

It would be hilarious if they actually copied the movie choice. 🙂

telcodad

HELLFIRE “Who Dove I Vote For?” and “How Do I Vote?” What, no one’s got a manual for the latter?

Yeah, you’d think the Vatican would have an orientation film for cardinals who haven’t been in conclave before.

But then, they say this process is very secretive and such a film could be leaked, so maybe the film “Conclave” is close enough to the real thing to be used this way.

broknsymetry

HELLFIRE I’m partial to The Borgias with Jeremy Irons myself…

I was going to post a clip of that earlier but the only relevant clips I could find are on TikTok.

telcodad

telcodad so maybe the film “Conclave” is close enough to the real thing to be used this way.

From Google AI Overview:
https://www.google.com/search?q=is+the+conclave+accurate

Is the conclave accurate?

The movie “Conclave” is generally considered to be a pretty accurate portrayal of a Papal conclave, especially in its depiction of the key procedures and rituals involved in electing a new Pope. However, it does take some creative liberties and oversimplifies certain aspects of the process. ….

What “Conclave” gets right:
:

What “Conclave” gets wrong or oversimplifies:
:

HELLFIRE

broknsymetry I was going to post a clip of that earlier but the only relevant clips I could find are on TikTok.

The ones I could find on YouTube happen right after the Conclave. Though I admit I still love the “habet duos testiculos et bene pendentes” scene after all these years XD XD

Regards

real_aurgathor

px_eliezer_ have looked to the Ralph Fiennes movie ― handily titled just “Conclave” ― for pointers.

I guess that can be taken as an implicit “Holy Seal of Approval”. 😉

In addition, it saves them the effort to make a training video.

urbanriot

Sparkchaser

I thought there was something more recent, where the smoke turned white to black.

Anyway, in 1958 I was in 5th-6th grade in Catholic school. I’m sure we didn’t have any “up to the minute news”

I believe it is more recent where the smoke turned white to black but I’ve heard two stories about this so far, one on CBC the other night and the other online through another mainstream news report interviewing someone in Rome and a lot of it sounds hand from second hand.

I believe that over time the unintentional results mixed with tradition mixed with intentions has lead to the ‘smoke signals’ we see today and over the years it wasn’t always the same result.

real_aurgathor

Instead of smoke signals, they should be live-streaming it on Netflix.

urbanriot

real_aurgathor

Instead of smoke signals, they should be live-streaming it on Netflix.

I’m not sure why but your post made me curious how long these conclaves take on average and I found this:

https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/article/how-long-was-the-longest-conclave-facts-about-the-secret-voting-to-elect-a-pope/

Longest:

In the 13th century, it took almost three years — 1,006 days to be exact — to choose Pope Clement IV’s successor, making it the longest conclave in the Catholic Church’s history

Shortest:

the 1503 election of Pope Julius II, who was elected in just a few hours

So it seems like it could be anywhere between 3 years to a few hours.

If I were to wager on the timeline I would bet on four days.

Dks01

px_eliezer_ The story says some cardinals watched the movie in the cinema. It has been out a few months. No relation to the current events in Rome. Clickbait.

Sparkchaser

real_aurgathor Instead of smoke signals, they should be live-streaming it

Here you go. 😃 Smoke Cam
https://www.nbcnews.com/video/watch-live-sistine-chapel-smoke-cam-during-vatican-conclave-238540869933

telcodad

BTW - Here are the current, front-runners for the next pope:

Italian PIETRO PAROLIN, 70, is currently the Vatican’s Secretary of State, and is now considered the main candidate in the running to become the next pope. He’s in the middle ground on most political questions facing the Church, and would be seen as an extension of Pope Francis’s legacy.

Hungarian PETER ERDO, 72, is a former President of the Council of Bishops Conferences of Europe and is a staunch Conservative and devout Marian. He is the leading candidate on the Conservative wing of the church and is thought he could be the main challenger to Cardinal Parolin in the early stages of the conclave.

Filipino LUIS TAGLE, 67, has been dubbed the “Asian Pope Francis”, because his views largely align with the late Pontiff. He has criticized the Church’s “severe” stance on gay people, divorcees and single mothers.

Who will be the next Pope? Leading contenders to replace Francis as secretive Conclave begins & all eyes on Vatican
https://www.the-sun.com/news/14181540/next-pope-leading-contenders-conclave-vatican/

urbanriot

telcodad There are many more and you left out the one most people want but the last time we started discussing this the thread was locked.

Rock_cake

Hey, so long as there’s no cannisters of antimatter laying around…!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angels_%26_Demons_(film)