How accurate is Pope’s movie based on the book?

We discuss the voting process featured in the new papal thriller “Conclave” (in theaters now). Mild spoilers ahead!

Twice in recent years, I boarded a flight to Rome to cover one of the most arcane, storied and secret events in human history: the election of a new pope.

This event is also known as a conclave, a term that takes its name from a 2016 book-turned-film thriller by Robert Harris. “Conclave” takes place during a fictional meeting of red-cloaked cardinals who have gathered in the Eternal City to vote for whom. will lead the approximately 1.4 billion Catholics in the world.

Many are familiar with the final moments of a conclave, when white smoke rises from a chimney just outside the Sistine Chapel, sending the assembled faithful into a frenzy of cheers, followed by the appearance of the new pontiff-elect on the central balcony at St. Peter’s Basilica.

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But given that the Vatican does not really do Hollywood, one wonders how the filmmakers managed to capture the nuanced details – from elaborate clothing to Latina voting vows – featured in the film, which stars Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci and John Lithgow as cardinals in contradiction, and Isabella Rossellini as a curiosity. nun.

“We were given a private tour of the Vatican and they were quite accommodating, actually quite helpful,” says “Conclave” screenwriter Peter Straughan. “So it was a big research project, really. It’s a fascinating and theatrical world, so you want to get those details right. It’s a very sumptuous thing.”

Vatican officials seemed on board with the film’s shocking premise, Straughan adds, as well as its portrayal of the political machinations of a conclave. “We didn’t want to be toothless in our approach to the church, which has many flaws, but we wanted to respect the heart of the Catholic Church,” he says.

Straughan walks USA TODAY through the questions that come up when you watch “Conclave.”

How much of “Conclave” was actually filmed at the Vatican?

None. “You can never film in the Vatican,” says Straughan. “We had to come up with alternatives.”

Most of these alternatives were actually in Rome, which is full of marble-encrusted buildings from past centuries that can double for many of the rooms, staircases, and hallways featured in “Conclave.” (One notable exception: the instantly recognizable interiors of the Sistine Chapel were recreated on a soundstage, and Michelangelo’s famous ceiling is a computer-generated replica of the real thing.)

Are the 235 Roman Catholic cardinals really sequestered as juries until they elect a pope?

Yes. As shown in “Conclave”, once a Vatican official faces the assembled cardinals and utters the words “extra omnes” (or “everyone out”), the cardinals are only allowed to interact with each other. “There shouldn’t be any information coming in from the outside world or going out that could influence the election in any way,” Straughan says.

There are, however, some officials who, as the case may be, can act as emissaries, even though the cardinals themselves cannot leave until he is successfully voted out, that is, a cardinal receives two-thirds of the vote and is elected pope. “While some people can go back and forth, I’m not sure they’re being used as detectives like they are in our story,” Straughan says.

Do the cardinals who gather for a conclave sleep on the premises?

The cardinals stay at Casa Santa Marta, a rather simple dormitory on the grounds of the Vatican. They are allowed to mix and mingle in nearby buildings and courtyards and dine together in a cafeteria staffed by nuns.

“Visually, you get this strange mix of absolute ancient beauty and tremendous scale, contrasted with this almost business conference center feel,” says Straughan. “You have this big stage feel, with the Sistine Chapel and these men deciding who will represent the Catholics of the world, and then this almost modest backstage feel. Quite a contrast, which makes for a great setting.”

Is the voting process in a papal conclave as formal as shown in “Conclave”?

When the cardinals gather to elect a pope, they vote four times a day, especially in the first day or two, to determine which candidates are most likely to get a majority vote. As shown in “Conclave”, the voting process is not a noisy affair, but solemn and full of ritual. “Each time each cardinal votes, he must approach the bowl where his written vote will be placed and recite an oath (in Latin),” says Straughan.

One by one, the cardinals place their folded ballots on top of a round plate and slide it into an oval urn as they pronounce an oath. As “Conclave” shows, those ballots are sewn together with a needle and thread and then burned with a chemical to send up either black smoke, meaning a deadlock, or white smoke, meaning “habemus papam” – “ we have a pope”.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is “Conclave” a true story? We’re actually checking out the book turned into a movie