Conclave-hive is so back. Although the papal drama didn’t exactly clean up at the Oscars, it’s become an even bigger force in pop culture in the months since. Even the newly elected pope was spending his days leading up to election figuring out which Prime Video rental option was cheapest so he could watch Ralph Fiennes lead the ultimate ecclesiastical diva-off.
After Pope Leo XIV’s election on May 8, his older brother John Prevost revealed what the newly appointed religious leader was doing in the hours leading up to his papal promotion. It included playing Wordle and Words with Friends, while also checking out the 2024 movie that’s become eerily prescient since the first papal conclave in 12 years convened on May 7.
“I said, ‘Well are you ready for this?’ I said, ‘Did you watch the movie Conclave so you know how to behave?’” Prevost told NBC News of his most recent text exchange with his brother. “And he had just finished watching the movie Conclave. So he knew how to behave.”
Prevost also reminded his brother to pack his red socks for the conclave, noting he wanted to keep the conversations light: “I wanted to take his mind off of it. You know, laugh about something because this is now an awesome responsibility.”
Reportedly, Pope Leo XIV wasn’t the only conclaved cardinal who had a movie night before being sequestered. Politico reported that several of the 133 clerics who voted in the papal election made a point to watch Conclave ahead of the uniquely complicated ceremony.
The outlet cited one of the participating clerics, who said that the film was viewed as remarkably accurate by religious leaders, and thus had become a useful source of research for the many conclave participants who had never experienced the famously secret ritual before.
