LET'S HAVE A CONCLAVE!

‘Conclave’ Memes Take Over the Internet After Pope Francis’ Death

Let’s all have a “Conclave” watch party.

“Conclave, I cast my vote for you.”

That’s what The Academy should’ve said when picking Best Picture, because no film has ever dropped its cassock and donned its holy livery quite like Conclave, the 2024 drama starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, and John Lithgow about the gathering of the Cardinals for the election of a new pope.

And now, with the passing of Pope Francis—the first Latin American pontiff—it’s not just a movie anymore, but the news.

The throne is now vacant, which means the men of the cloth are about to descend on the Vatican and sequester themselves for one of the most secretive elections in the world.

Time to smoke up the Sistine Chapel; a real Conclave is upon us. And so is the avalanche of memes.

An Explanation

After Conclave hit theaters in October, the film quickly gathered a strong online fandom, in large part because it had the people gooped and gagged.

In the film, the Cardinals vying for the position of supreme pontiff are juicy backstabbers who deliver cutting takedowns like morning prayers. The internet lived for the drama.

As the this one tweet succinctly puts it, “Conclave is first and foremost a movie for nosy b----es.”

Now fans of the film are preparing themselves for the real life conclave, brushing up on their Vatican knowledge like their life depends on it.

First, they are rewatching the film.

Next, they are studying the profiles of the candidates.

Then, they are locking in their favorites.

And they are also imparting their knowledge on others.

Thanks to the film, this may very well be the most closely followed conclave in history.

And finally, Conclave fans are kindly asking that the Vatican please let in cameras in so everyone can witness what goes down behind locked doors.

Clare DonaldsonEditorial Intern

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