Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is tasked with running this covert process after the unexpected death of the beloved Pope. Once the Catholic Church's most powerful leaders have gathered from around the world and are locked together in the Vatican halls, Lawrence uncovers a trail of deep secrets left in the dead Pope's wake--secrets which could shake the foundations of the Church.

DID YOU KNOW?

Many of the actions Cardinal Lawrence and the rest of the cardinals take during the film's conclave process are accurate to the Catholic faith and centuries of tradition. After the pope dies, his ring (called the Ring of the Fisherman) is removed and destroyed, to prevent it from being used to forge the pope's seal on documents. The Vatican makes an official announcement that the throne of the Holy See (the Catholic church's governing body) is vacant. The papal apartment is closed off with crimson ribbon and sealed with a wax papal stamp. The College of Cardinals are sequestered in apartments (the Domus Sanctae Marthae, Saint Martha's House) to eat and sleep between votes. Finally, the windows and doors to the Sistine Chapel, where the actual election takes place and ballots are cast, are darkened, shuttered, and locked to maintain the secrecy of the conclave. Some newer security measures are shown as well. When the conclave that elected Pope Francis I convened in 2013, the Sistine Chapel was swept for bugs and other electronic listening devices. ID cards were issued to all conclave servants because a reporter disguised as a servant was discovered during the conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. All members of the College of Cardinals were required to surrender their mobile phones and other electronic devices, Vatican City's Wi-Fi network was temporarily shut down, and wireless signal jammers were installed in the Sistine Chapel.