In an interesting turn of life somewhat imitating art, the new pope watched the film “Conclave” in the days just before being named the first American pontiff to lead the Catholic church.
Chicago native Robert Prevost, who as of Thursday will be known as Pope Leo XIV, told his brother John that he’d seen the Oscar-winning film ahead of the conclave, according to NBC Chicago.
John Prevost, a U.S. Navy veteran, told the outlet he jokingly asked his 69-year-old brother if he’d watched the Ralph Fiennes drama “so he knew how to behave” — to which Pope Leo said he had.
“I wanted to take his mind off of it, laugh about something, because this is now an awesome responsibility,” Prevost said, adding he spoke with his brother right before the conclave began earlier this week.
The modern pope and his brother also have a history of playing Wordle and Words with Friends, which John similarly considered “something to keep his mind off of life in the real world.”
Despite reportedly hearing that his brother was a favorite to become the next pontiff following the death of Pope Francis late last month, he admitted neither of them truly believed it would ever happen.
“I didn’t believe it, and Rob didn’t believe it. I should say, Pope Leo didn’t believe it at all, because ‘there’s not going to be an American pope’ was the attitude,” Prevost told NBC.
Now streaming on Prime Video, the 2024 political thriller “Conclave” stars Fiennes as a Catholic cardinal tasked with running the secretive election process as fellow cardinals — including Stanley Tucci’s progressive American and John Lithgow’s Canadian moderate — try their hand at securing the papacy.
“Conclave” won Best Adapted Screenplay at this year’s Academy Awards, where it was nominated for seven other honors, including Best Picture and Best Performance by a Leading Actor.
Apparently, Pope Leo wasn’t the only cardinal to enjoy the film ahead of the conclave, according to sources. A cleric told Politico this week that several of the 133 cardinals involved in electing the pope turned to the movie for pointers, with some even “watch[ing] it in the cinema.”
