Who becomes pope in the end?

God has smiled upon Conclave, the 2024 political thriller about a papal conclave and the myriad secrets beneath the cardinals’ vestments.

After nabbing statues at the Golden Globes, the British Academy Film Awards, and the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, Edward Berger’s follow-up to the Oscar-winning All Quiet On the Western Front scored eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.

The cast of Conclave includes heavy hitters like Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini, with Fiennes and Rossellini receiving nods for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress, respectively.

“Conclave is packed with unexpected twists and its final reveal is one viewers will never see coming, an increasingly rare occurrence in modern movie-making and the mark of an impeccably crafted thriller,” Entertainment Weekly‘s critic raved in their review.

So, let’s talk about that final reveal. Read on as we explain Conclave’s ending and who wins the papacy.

What is Conclave about?

As its name implies, Conclave is about the centuries-old Catholic tradition in which the College of Cardinals gather to nominate the church’s new leader. Fiennes’ Cardinal Thomas Lawrence organizes the conclave after the previous pope died of a heart attack.

Four candidates emerge as frontrunners, each representing a different set of values. Joshua Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati) is a fire-and-brimstone conservative, while Aldo Bellini (Tucci) is a progressive in the mold of the previous pope. Goffredo Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto), meanwhile, was a fierce critic of the former pope and believes the church has become too open-minded. And then there’s Joseph Tremblay (Lithgow), a moderate who may or may not have been asked to resign by the late pontiff.

However, no one obtains the two-thirds majority required to assume the role. In fact, Lawrence receives votes despite declaring he has no interest in becoming pope.

As the days (and ballots) roll on, secrets about the candidates are unearthed, resulting in crushed dreams, new alliances, and a few inspirational speeches.

Who becomes pope in Conclave?

Not who you might think.

In the end, Cardinal Vincent Benitez (Carlos Diehz) is elected as the church’s new leader. Though he only receives a few votes in the early rounds, the mysterious archbishop steadily climbs in the ranks as other cardinals find their candidacies imperiled.

Benitez clinches his victory with a rousing speech about tolerance in the aftermath of an attack by a suicide bomber outside the Vatican. While Tedesco calls for a holy war in response to the attack, Benitez takes a different approach, declaring that violence should not be met with more violence. He counters Tedesco’s traditionalist rhetoric by saying the church needs to focus on the future, not retreat into the past.

The seventh ballot results in Benitez being elected the next pope. He chooses the papal name of “Innocent.”

Who is Cardinal Vincent Benitez in Conclave?

Before showing up to the Vatican, Cardinal Benitez, the Mexican-born archbishop of Kabul, was unknown to many of his fellow cardinals. He was, however, close with the late pope, who elevated Benitez to his position in pectore, meaning that he did so in secret.

Since there’s an air of mystery around Benitez, Lawrence asks his assistant, Monsignor O’Malley (Brían F. O’Byrne), to gather intel about the archbishop. He learns that Benitez appears to have some kind of undisclosed health issue. Also, the late pope apparently paid for Benitez to fly to Switzerland for a medical procedure, though it appears Benitez ended up canceling it.

How does Conclave end?

The final scenes of Conclave find Lawrence confronting Benitez about the nature of his aborted trip to Switzerland.

The truth is stranger than Lawrence expected: Benitez, we learn, is intersex, meaning he was born with a uterus and ovaries. The appointment the late pope helped facilitate was for a laparoscopic hysterectomy that would remove the uterus. Benitez, who still identifies as male, tells Lawrence that he decided against the procedure because he believes he is “as God made me.”

Benitez believes his identity benefits the role, as he “exists between certainties.” This comforts Lawrence, who proclaims earlier in the film that “certainty is the great enemy of unity.”

He says, “Our faith is a living thing precisely because it walks hand in hand with doubt. If there is only certainty and no doubt, there would be no mystery, and therefore no need for faith.” 

What does the ending of Conclave mean?

Conclave depicts the Catholic church at an inflection point, with warring political factions proving themselves vain, self-serving, and hypocritical in their pursuit of power. It’s also, as Rossellini’s Sister Agnes demonstrates, a patriarchal organization that remains retrograde in its gender politics. Even the film’s ostensible progressives, like Tucci’s Bellini, are not immune to unethical bargaining behind the scenes.

The film seems to argue, though, that progress is inevitable. By electing Benitez, the cardinals have unwittingly appointed a leader who falls outside traditional binaries, thus bringing a new perspective into the Vatican. The promise of progress is reflected in the sounds of the nuns laughing.

Speaking with EW, Berger reflected on the moment the windows of the Vatican open to spill light into the “monastic, quite cold, quite hermetically sealed” space. “And then the windows open in the end. I wanted it to feel like a liberation; life comes back in, female laughter comes back in, air, winds, noise, sun,” he said.

Is Conclave based on a true story?

No, Conclave is not based on a true story, but it was adapted from a 2016 novel of the same name by Robert Harris.

However, Harris revealed that elements of the story were inspired by real-life events. “There’s an alleged diary by a cardinal from the conclave that elected [Cardinal Joseph] Ratzinger as Pope Benedict that describes the ballot process and an attempt to try and stop Ratzinger,” he told TIME in a 2024 interview. “There was also a great liberal cardinal from Milan who was expected year after year to become the pope. He was always the favorite, but he only came third after the first ballot. That’s the Stanley Tucci character in the movie and sets up the human drama, the man who’s waited all his life only for it to slip away from him.”

At the time of writing, the 88-year-old Pope Francis is in critical condition, so the church may be holding a conclave very soon. Will it be as dramatic? Probably not. Will it be as catty? Probably yes.

Where can I watch Conclave?

Conclave is currently streaming on Peacock. It’s also available to rent or buy via Amazon Prime.

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