Conclave

In Roman Catholic tradition, the pope is the successor of Saint Peter, the apostle to whom Jesus Christ entrusted the care of his Church. This makes the pope the spiritual leader of the Catholic Church, administering apostolic authority and pastoral care to the faithful across the world. 

Historically, the pope’s spiritual authority has made him a key figure in Western history and civilization. Throughout the first millennium, the pope evolved from an outlaw to an accreditor of secular sovereignty to a temporal sovereign himself. Although the next millennium saw shifts in the scope of the pope’s power through the East-West Schism, the Protestant Reformation, and the Age of Enlightenment, the pope remains a significant spiritual leader in today’s society, ushering in changes that impact Christian behaviors and attitudes on a global scale. 

One relatively recent example of the pope’s impact on modern Christianity is the Second Vatican Council (also known as Vatican II), held between 1962 and 1965, which Pope John XXIII convened to modernize the Church and make it more accessible. This resulted in widespread reforms in Church practices, including the use of vernacular languages like English to celebrate Catholic liturgies. Since then, factions within the Church have struggled to reconcile the results of this ecumenical council with their political positions. In some cases, hardcore traditionalists have called for a return to pre-Vatican II practices, seeing the modernization as a dramatic break from tradition. On the other hand, liberal Catholics argue that the reforms were superficial, demanding a larger overhaul of the Church to combat corruption, abuse of power, and cultural repression. 

Both factions rely heavily on the influence of the incumbent pope to validate their positions, leading to shifting cultural sentiments in the succeeding papacies. John Paul II, who was pope from 1978 to 2005, was praised for his active engagement with secular culture, traveling extensively to connect with segments of the faithful across the world. He was criticized, however, for his conservative politics, such as his stances on abortion and female ordination. His successor, Benedict XVI, who was pope until he resigned in 2013, was seen as being even more conservative, advocating for an intellectualist approach to theology to counter-cultural secularization. His papacy was plagued by his mishandling of sexual abuse cases committed by Catholic clergy. Finally, the incumbent pope at the time of the book’s publication, Francis, is seen to have shifted the direction of the Catholic Church, steering it toward a culture of acceptance of the LGBTQ community and the incorporation of women in the Roman Curia. He is also known for his critical stances toward capitalism, climate change, and war. Notably, Pope Francis is the first pope in history to hail from South America, which informs his engagement with underserved missions across the continent and the world.

Since 1059, the pope has been determined by a congregation of bishops known as the College of Cardinals. In its modern practice, the papal conclave is held in the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. During the conclave, the cardinals are sequestered from the world, prohibited from accessing the news or any form of communication with nonmembers of the college. This practice is intended to preserve their meditation on the conclave and strengthen the guidance of God the Holy Spirit, who selects the pope through the minds and hearts of the cardinal electors. 

These practices and beliefs are key to the subtext of Conclave. The various candidates represent specific political stances within the Church, hinting at the direction their papacy could take should they be elected. It also exposes the human ego and ambition that interferes with the conclave’s dictate to uphold the will of the Holy Spirit. Considering that the novel’s titular election results in the papacy of an unexpected candidate, Harris is suggesting that the solution to the Catholic Church’s contemporary troubles may be found in a new direction that is both a break with tradition and an alignment with the unconditional love God is said to have for every person.