CONCLAVE

*CUT TO THE CHASE*

NOTE: This spoiler was submitted by Jeremy

The film opens as Cardinal-Dean Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) joins other members of the clergy to gather around the Pope as he lays dead from a heart attack. After he is pronounced dead, Lawrence sheds a tear and meets with his friend, Cardinal Aldo Bellini (Stanley Tucci), as they discuss the late Pope and how close they were with him.

Three weeks later, the College of Cardinals gather in a private location to initiate their conclave with Lawrence leading them. Other cardinals and nuns arrive in preparation for their votes. Among the other candidates, besides the liberal Bellini, are Cardinal Joseph Tremblay (John Lithgow), a traditional conservative; Cardinal Joshua Adeyimi (Lucien Msamati), more socially conservative; and Cardinal Goffredo Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto), someone that Lawrence and Bellini think would set the church back with his archaic views. Neither Lawrence or Bellini want the Papacy, but they especially don’t want it to fall under Tedesco.

Lawrence is called to meet with Archbishop Janusz Wozniak (Jacek Koman), who appears distressed. He confides privately to Lawrence that the last person to meet with the Pope was Cardinal Tremblay, who was dismissed by the Pope for gross misconduct. Tremblay is also supposedly the lead candidate for the Papacy.

Lawrence is later brought to meet Cardinal Vincent Benitez (Carlos Diehz), the Archbishop of Kabul. The other men wonder if Benitez forged his credentials, but he says that the Pope made him a cardinal in secret (“creation in pectore”) for reasons yet unknown the previous year. Benitez has also done missionary work in war zones. Lawrence introduces Benitez to the rest of the College and lets him bless their meal.

The cardinals meet privately to discuss their views, with Bellini reaffirming his desire to ensure Tedesco does not become Pope. Afterwards, he meets with Tremblay to discuss why the Pope might have dismissed him. Tremblay vehemently denies the accusation and suggests Wozniak was drinking when he made the claim.

On the first day of the conclave, Lawrence addresses the College and tells them to be prepared for doubt and uncertainty. After the first round of votes, Adeyimi appears to be leading, but Lawrence receives a few unexpected votes split between him and Bellini, the latter who reluctantly agrees to get behind Adeyimi with Lawrence to avoid Tedesco’s victory, even though Bellini is intolerant of Adeyimi’s homophobia. Lawrence tries to get Monsignor Raymond O’Malley (Brian F. O’Byrne) to find out why Tremblay should not be Pope, but it is determined there is no evidence to back this up. At night, Lawrence overhears an argument between two nuns.

During the second day, the College overhears commotion in the street, something later said to be an explosion of some kind. Lawrence wants to keep the news hidden from the electors so their votes are not affected by outside influences. Adeyimi continues to lead in the votes, but does not secure the two-thirds majority vote needed to win. However, during lunch, Adeyimi is loudly confronted by a nun named Sister Shanumi (Balkissa Maiga).

Lawrence speaks to Sister Agnes (Isabella Rossellini), who allows him to talk to Shanumi. Afterwards, he goes to speak to Adeyimi, as Shanumi had told Lawrence that they conceived a child out of wedlock 30 years earlier when Shanumi was 19. Adeyimi calls it a lapse in judgment, but Lawrence keeps this a secret since he is bound by confession. Still, word gets around, and Adeyimi’s votes slip severely. Bellini starts to back Tremblay to continue his fight against Tedesco.

O’Malley tells Lawrence that the Pope paid for Benitez to be flown to Geneva for an undisclosed medical procedure. Lawrence meets with Benitez in private, where he is told that Benitez placed his vote for Lawrence.

Sister Agnes tells Lawrence that Tremblay had Shanumi transferred to the Vatican. Lawrence confronts him over this under the belief that he did it to set up Adeyimi and derail his votes. Tremblay confirms he arranged for Shanumi’s transfer but he says it was at the request of the Pope and that they did not know of her involvement with Adeyimi. Tremblay in turn accuses Lawrence of his own ambitions for the Papacy, which he angrily denies.

Lawrence sneaks into the Pope’s closed off room, where he finds a notebook and documents detailing Tremblay’s bribes to the other cardinals to secure votes, which is why the Pope called for his resignation. When he shows this to Bellini, he urges Lawrence to burn the documents, and Lawrence realizes Bellini also accepted a bribe.

On the third day, Lawrence and Agnes make copies and expose Tremblay’s treachery. An uproar occurs, but Agnes confirms Tremblay’s reasoning for bringing Shanumi to the Vatican, which was to humiliate Adeyimi. Bellini later approaches Lawrence to ask for forgiveness, which he gets, though the votes now come down to Tedesco and Lawrence.

During the next round of votes, the Vatican is shaken by a suicide bomber outside, which causes some damage to the Sistine Chapel, as well as several casualties in the streets. In response, the cardinals gather, with Tedesco blaming Muslim extremists and saying the Church should fight against them. After an outraged reaction, Benitez stands and gives an impassioned speech about what he has experienced in regards to the horrors of war, and that violence should not be met with more violence. After one last vote, Benitez is officially elected Pope Innocent XIV.

Following the election, O’Malley pulls Lawrence aside to discuss the matter of Benitez’s trip to Switzerland. Lawrence talks to Benitez alone and learns that he was there for a procedure known as a laparoscopic hysterectomy. Benitez is intersex and did not previously know he was born with ovaries and a uterus until he underwent an appendectomy. The late Pope knew of this and kept it a secret. Benitez did not go through with the procedure, stating that he chose to live as God made him. Lawrence agrees to also keep this a secret, trusting Benitez, as well as the will of God.

The Vatican officially announces Benitez’s election by lighting the smoke signals. As Lawrence overhears crowds cheering for the results, he starts to smile.

Following the death of the Pope, Cardinal-Dean Thomas Lawrence is tasked with leading a sequestered conclave to elect the next Pope. The candidates include Lawrence's friend and fellow liberal Aldo Bellini, conservatives Joseph Tremblay and Joshua Adeyimi, and Goffredo Tedesco, the latter who is believed to be the worst possible pick for the Papacy due to his backwards views.

Lawrence learns that Tremblay was the last person to meet with the Pope, as he had called for Tremblay's resignation following an unsettling revelation. Meanwhile, Adeyimi is confronted by a nun, Sister Shanumi, after she was transferred to the Vatican per an arrangement made by Tremblay. Shanumi exposes how Adeyimi, previously the lead in the votes, had impregnated her 30 years earlier when she was 19 and he was 30. In turn, Tremblay is exposed for bribing the cardinals for votes, including a remorseful Bellini. Tremblay, Adeyimi, and Bellini's credentials are ruined, leaving Tedesco and Lawrence as the remaining candidates.

Lawrence also meets Cardinal Vincent Benitez, who was privately made a cardinal the year before by the Pope. Monsignor O'Malley tells Lawrence that Benitez was sent to Geneva by the Pope for an undisclosed medical procedure. After a suicide bomber detonates himself outside the Vatican, leaving many casualties outside, Cardinal Tedesco calls for a religious war. Benitez gives an impassioned speech about the horrors of war, due to his missionary work in war zones, and how violence should not be met with violence. This moves the other cardinals to officially elect Benitez as the new Pope.

Lawrence later meets with Benitez to learn that the Pope flew him to Switzerland for a laparoscopic hysterectomy, as Benitez is intersex and was set to remove his female organs. However, he decided against it, choosing to live as God made him. Lawrence chooses to keep this a secret as the Pope did, putting his faith in Benitez and the word of God.