Conclave: How the film sheds light on the secretive way popes are chosen

The Bafta award-winning film gives viewers a window into a "highly secret and a deeply private process".

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On Wednesday 7 May, life follows fiction when 134 cardinals begin the process of electing a successor to Pope Francis. As viewers of the film will know, the papal conclave will take place entirely behind the closed doors of the Sistine Chapel, beneath its world-famous Michelangelo frescoes.

Nobody outside the confines of the Vatican will know the outcome until a plume of white smoke curls from its chimney, signifying that the Roman Catholic Church has a new leader.

But what does the film tell us about how the conclave could unfold, and why do people find the process so fascinating?

Adapted from the bestselling novel by Robert Harris, Conclave shows the cardinal-electors isolating themselves within the confines of the Vatican during the process of the election.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgkg403x1gxo

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