Viewership for the movie has skyrocketed by 283 per cent according to wired.com.
People are watching it to get a greater understanding of how the elections works.
The movie had 1.8 million minutes watched on April 20, and 6.9 million minutes on April 21, the day of the pope’s death. These numbers come from Luminate.
Pope Francis passed away on Monday, April 21, at the age of 88.
The film, directed by Edward Berger from a screenplay by Peter Straughan, is adapted from Robert Harris’s novel of the same name. Conclave became one of the most acclaimed movies of 2024 and earned 8 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. The political thriller ends with the conclave having voted in a new pope — Cardinal Vincent Benitez — after a long, arduous process filled with revelations about intentions, ethics, and behavior.
In the Catholic Church, each new pope is selected through the traditional practice of a conclave. According to Merriam-Webster, “Conclave comes from a Latin word meaning ‘room that can be locked up.’” Most simply put, the word conclave refers to a private meeting.
The Catholic church adopted new rules for the election of a pope in 1996, under Pope John Paul II, and the process has remained mostly unchanged since then.
Following the death of the pope, the cardinals will hold a series of meetings called general congregations to discuss the needs and challenges facing the Church.
Fifteen to 20 days after the pope’s death, and sooner if all the voting cardinals are in Rome, they will gather for the conclave.
Of 252 cardinals, only 135 are under 80 years old and therefore eligible to vote in the election of a new pope. The voting cardinals are housed in the Casa Santa Marta, where Pope Francis had lived, and will cast their ballots in the Sistine Chapel, in the Apostolic Palace.
The cardinals cannot communicate with anyone outside until a pope has been elected.
The priests, secretaries, cooks and doctors working on the sidelines of the election must take an oath of secrecy, and the Sistine Chapel will be swept for wire taps or recording equipment.
by maureen waruinge
