Pope Leo Watched ‘Conclave’ in Preparation for Real Conclave, Says His Brother

Pope Leo XIV’s brother is sharing an perception into how the newly-elected pontiff ready for the papal conclave.

In a brand new interview with NBC News, John Prevost opened up about his final dialog together with his brother, Cardinal Robert Prevost, earlier than he was elected because the 267th pope of the Roman Catholic Church on Thursday, May 8.

Speaking about how the brand new pope, 69, prepped forward of the voting classes within the Sistine Chapel, John revealed that his brother watched the Oscar-winning film, Conclave, and performed a well-liked on-line sport.

“First we do Wordle ‘cause this is a regular thing, then we do Words with Friends,” John said of the games they played. “It’s one thing to maintain his thoughts off life in the true world.”

He added, “And then we speak about what’s happening and I stated, ‘Well, do you have your red socks?’ That does not go over effectively on a regular basis. And then simply that type of stuff.”

“And I said, ‘Well are you ready for this?’ I said, ‘Did you watch the movie Conclave so you know how to behave?” the proud sibling recalled of their dialog. “And he had simply completed watching the film Conclave.”

John added, “So he knew how to behave. So it’s that kind of stuff because I wanted to take his mind off of it. You know, laugh about something because this is now an awesome responsibility.”

Starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, Isabella Rossellini and John Lithgow, 2024’s Conclave tells a fictional model of the real-life technique of deciding on a brand new pope. Fiennes performs Cardinal Lawrence (Fiennes), dean of the College of Cardinals, who organizes the eligible cardinals to vote for the subsequent pope within the Sistine Chapel.

According to the film’s synopsis, “he soon uncovers a trail of deep secrets that could shake the very foundation of the Roman Catholic Church.”

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Meanwhile, the true conclave, which started on May 7, befell over two days, with the pope making historical past in turning into the primary American to tackle the position.

Delivering his first tackle as pope simply earlier than 7:30 p.m. native time, Pope Leo spoke in Italian and Spanish to folks in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City. He additionally paid tribute to his predecessor, the late Pope Francis, who died on April 21.

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“We nonetheless hold in our ears that weak however at all times brave voice of Pope Francis blessing Rome,” he stated. “The Pope who blessed Rome gave his blessing to the world, to the entire world that morning on Easter Sunday.”

The conclave options a number of rounds of voting by College of Cardinals members beneath the age of 80.

Marking essentially the most electors to ever vote in a conclave, 133 cardinals took half within the 2025 conclave, which ended on Thursday, May 8, shortly after 6 p.m. native time when white smoke was seen billowing from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel.