Warning: The following article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Conclave.ends with the surprising election of Cardinal Vincent Benitez (Carlos Diehz) as Pope after it was revealed that Cardinal Tremblay (John Lithgow) purposefully sent a nun to the Vatican to tarnish Cardinal Adeyemi's (Lucian Msamati) reputation. However, after his election, Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) learns that Benitez is intersex, and the Pope paid for him to have the female parts of his body removed. Lawrence chooses to keep this a secret when Benitez tells him that he refused treatment because it is how God made him to be.

In an interview with Den of Geek, Berger discusses how Lawrence reacts to such a revelation. The filmmaker states that Lawrence recognizes that the right person became Pope because of his purity of belief, which many figures depicted in the movie did not have, and only wanted the papacy for their gains. Check out his full comments on the matter below:

I think in the end Ralph recognizes the right person becomes Pope. Because it is a person who is pure, who still believes… and I think that’s what it’s more about. To keep the purity, the innocence of your true belief. It doesn’t really matter whether you’re a cardinal or a filmmaker or journalist or an engineer.

This movie is about the oldest patriarchal institution in the world, representing many other patriarchal institutions in the world. And at the end of the movie, there’s a crack in that institution, a crack of perhaps femininity, ya? It’s a crack that a light can shine through, a guiding light for the future, perhaps. And the future is a world where maybe both can exist?

Once that conclave is over, the shutters open, and [Lawrence] opens the window, and lets the air and the sun and life back in. And he hears that feminine laughter of those three nuns. In a way, it’s the future and it evokes a smile on him. It’s the promise of a more egalitarian tomorrow with a Pope who might offer some understanding for all people, no matter their gender or sex.

Berger also spoke to Vanity Fair and discussed how the ending was shot. Initially saying that the reveal comes as a shock for Lawrence, it also revolutionizes his thinking about religion and the Pope's place in society. They also did not want the reveal to come as a shock for audiences, but played sensitively to reveal Benitez's most human nature. Check out his full comments below:

From Ralph’s character’s point of view, this comes as a shock. This revolutionizes his way of thinking. It wouldn’t come to me or you as a shock. It would be interesting. But for a Catholic person, it’s a big thing. Because even though he propagates in the beginning, I’d love a Pope of uncertainty, when he is suddenly confronted with someone who says I’m in between the two worlds, suddenly he just needs a moment to work through that.

We didn’t want to play it for shock value, by the way. We really wanted it to feel very natural and soft. This is Benitez. This is who he is; this is part of him. We wanted it to play as subtly and as sensitively as possible, and really not go for the big twist, sensational reveal.

What The Benitez Reveal Means For Lawrence's Journey In Conclave

His Faith May Be Restored

Throughout Conclave's story, Lawrence experiences a profound crisis of faith. In fact, he does not want anyone to nominate him as Pope because he plans to resign his position as Dean once the election is over. However, one of the who continuously votes to appoint him as Pope is Benitez, who tells him he is the perfect candidate to take the position because he simply doesn't want it. After the Tremblay scandal is exposed, Lawrence looks to be the one who will be elected as Pope until a terrorist attack shifts the conclave's votes to Benitez after he tells the cardinals that they must move forward in embracing religion instead of being politically motivated.

It's in that scene where Lawrence's hope for the future of the Catholic Church is instilled, knowing that Benitez can bear the moral responsibility of becoming the Supreme Pontiff. Even after he finds out about Benitez's situation, he decides to keep it a secret, because he knows deep down that he is the only person who can bring the Vatican into modernity without any of the petty politics that had unfortunately tarnished the election by way of Cardinals Tremblay, Adeyemi, or Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto) up until now. And the crowd cheering Benitez's election at the movie's end further exacerbates that hope within Lawrence.

Conclave is based on the book of the same name by Robert Harris and is director Edward Berger's first film in the English language. The filmmaker received international acclaim in 2022 for his adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front, which was nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Our Take On The Benitez Twist In Conclave

Benitez Represents Hope For The Future Of The Vatican

Conclave shows a division within the Cardinals, with traditional, conservative figures wanting to bring back the church to a more regressive era, which Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci) vehemently opposes. Bellini, Lawrence, and Benitez are more liberal figures who were initially unpopular within the conclave, but become more important when Benitez reminds the cardinals what their values should aspire to strive for. In that vein, Benitez becomes Pope and instills a newfound hope for Lawrence and the Vatican after it has been plagued with various potentially damaging scandals. In that vein, Conclave showcases how belief may not be lost after all for the Church, who, with the election of Benitez, looks forward to bringing it to a modern, more progressive era.

Source: Various (see above)