Conclave's Ending, Explained: Who Becomes the New Pope?

If the movie title Conclave seems familiar, you might have heard of author Robert Harris' 2016 historical fiction novel of the same name. Both the book and the film document a fictional 72-hours at the Vatican when a conclave of Cardinals from around the world is assembled to elect the next pope.

Conclave is the latest project from 2022's Academy Award-winning director Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front). He adapts Harris' book into an absorbingly, taut mystery/thriller. Set in contemporary times, Berger peels back the curtain on the ancient protocols of the Roman Catholic Church, as well as the very human power machinations by the Cardinals jockeying to lead the church. All is witnessed through the eyes of Ralph Fiennes' Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, a well-respected priest who is tasked to coordinate and oversee the execution of the sequestered vote to select the next pope, in his role as Dean of the College of Cardinals. A reluctant participant due to his own doubts regarding the church, Lawrence must see the vote through despite major twists and turns in the process.

RELATED: How a New Pope Is Chosen: The Real World Inspiration Behind Conclave

While Peter Straughan's screenplay does adhere closely to the book's structure and characters, the Conclave film diverges in places, especially regarding a major reveal presented in the last act.

What happens at the end of Conclave explained

Ralph Fiennes stars as Cardinal Lawrence in director Edward Berger's CONCLAVE. Photo: Philippe Antonello/Focus Features

In Harris' book, Cardinal Vincent Benítez is the Filipino Archbishop of Baghdad. He is a surprise addition to the conclave vote, as he was made a Cardinal in secret by the recently-deceased pope. Throughout the sequestered voting process, the conclave comes to know Benítez as an exceptionally compassionate and progressive representative of the church. When he wins the final vote, Cardinal Jacopo Baldassare Lomeli (Cardinal Lawrence in the film) uncovers that Benítez was born intersex and raised by his family as a male. Lomeli only discovers his condition in the aftermath of a bombing when he is injured and examined by doctors. He intended to resign and undergo gender reassignment surgery, but the former pope declined his request and made him a Cardinal instead. 

RELATED: Everything to Know About Conclave, the Papal Thriller Starring Ralph Fiennes

In the film, Cardinal Benitez (Carlos Diehz) from Mexico is also voted by the conclave to be the next pope. He takes the name of Pope Innocent. But before he is officially presented to the public, Cardinal Lawrence (Fiennes) finds out from his assistant, Monsignor Raymond O'Malley (Brían F. O'Byrne), that Benitez' mysteriously canceled medical procedure at a clinic in Switzerland was for gender reassignment. Born intersex but unaware until a medical condition revealed it, he told the former pope that he intended to resign. The former pope forbade it and instead made him the Archbishop of Kabul. Cardinal Lawrence agrees not to tell anyone, and it's implied that he does so because Innocent is a good person with a unique perspective that will bring the church forward with much needed progressive attitudes regarding the compassion and understanding of all persons. 

Conclave stars, creatives explain the film’s surprising ending

A truly unexpected turn of events for those not familiar with the book, Berger said he and his team worked for months on the private confrontation between Lawrence and Benitez, examining the reveal from many perspectives, including Fiennes' reaction. They also consulted with the LGBTQ advocacy organization, GLAAD, to get their insights on how best to position the moment. 

Berger said, "We asked, 'How do we add to the cultural discourse here instead of riling people up and getting people mad, whichever side you know they're on?"

In the end, Berger said it all hinged on the subtlety of the portrayal by actor Carlos Diehz. "I really looked the world over to find someone who I didn't know from before," he explained of his year-long search for the part. "Because knowing [an actor] from before, you have all these associations with other roles and you think, 'That can't be because I saw him in that role...,' and somehow that muddies the water. But if he's really, utterly unknown and you've never seen him before, then he can say these lines, and you can look into his eyes, and you go, 'I believe that that could be true,'" he said of the film's reveal.

Praising the work Diehz in landing the emotional moment, Berger said, "That is really difficult to pull off. Not everyone can. You need to have a side in you that embraces the in-between certainties and not everyone has that. But he says it so beautifully and gently and sensitively that you think, he's just like you and I. Another human being that has his own thoughts and paths to carve in life, and everyone's path is going to be different."

Interestingly, actor John Lithgow had a similar experience with his breakout role in the 1982 film, The World According to Garp, where he played the trans character, Roberta Muldoon. 

Lithgow observed, "When I played Roberta, she was much more of an anomaly, perceived as an aberrant character. But, the fact that she was such an earnest and good person, that made it into quite a radical creation on the part of [author] John Irving and on the part of Steve Tesich, who wrote the screenplay, George Roy who directed it, and me. It was a bold piece of storytelling."

Acknowledging that the interim four decades has only made the rights of trans, intersex and non-binary people "more complicated" over the years, Lithgow noted that continuing to see characters like Muldoon and Benitez in movies and TV has made a difference. "You think of Transparent and Jeffrey Tambor's marvelous performance. You think Orange is the New Black. Those are the big benchmarks. And in this one, they've found this beautiful actor with  Carlos. I hope people see a lot of him, because he's a beautiful actor."

Ralph Fiennes stars as Cardinal Lawrence in director Edward Berger's CONCLAVE. Photo: Courtesy of Focus Features.

"In a way, the movie is about the oldest patriarchal society in the world," Berger said. "It could be any other, but this happens in the Church because it is literally the oldest patriarchal society. And, purely patriarchal. Isabella Rossellini's [Sister Agnes] is not allowed in those circles. So, the end of the film is a question of, What if there's a crack in that? What would the future look like, and would it add something to that conversation? That's just a thought that maybe we plant in a future audience's mind."

Conclave is exclusively in theaters now. Get your tickets!