Controversial real-life papal conclaves

AAfter the death of a pope, the conclave of cardinals that meets to elect his successor is sworn to secrecy. Therefore, the proceedings, which traditionally take place in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel, are perfect fodder for authors and filmmakers.

In the film Conclave-is in theaters today (October 25) and is based on Robert Harris' 2016 thriller of the same name – a group of cardinals, played by Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow and Lucian Msamati, are rocked by secrets about each other that be disclosed during the voting process. There's also a Cardinal of Kabul who no one knew existed until he showed up (played by Carlos Diehz). In addition to the explosive secrets, a car bomb shatters the windows of the Sistine Chapel. And the biggest secret of all comes to light in the last five minutes of the film.

While conclave is fiction, there have actually been controversial conclaves here throughout history. Here's a look back at three of the most dramatic:

The conclave that led to two popes

When the conclave met in 1378, a debate raged over whether the pope should be in Avignon, France, or in Rome. The Pope had been based in Avignon since 1309, as the French king sought greater influence over the papacy.

An estimated 20,000 people flocked to the 1378 conclave in Rome to express their opinions, including peasants who had traveled from the countryside.

According to Frederic J. Baumgartner Behind Closed Doors: A History of the Papal Elections, The crowd shouted things like: “We want a Roman Pope, or at least an Italian, or you will die!” A heckler shouted: “If you cardinals don't give us one, we'll make your heads as red as your hats.” To stop the mob To shoo them away, the cardinals once pretended they had elected an older, weak Italian cardinal by leaving him to stand at the window until the crowd dispersed.

The cardinals quickly elected the Archbishop of Bari, Bartolomeo Prignano, and he took the name Urban VI. to. The cardinals assumed that he would agree to resign immediately after the situation in Rome calmed down so that they could then choose the favorite. But Urban did not resign and threw such violent temper tantrums that the cardinals did not trust him and declared the papacy vacant. In his place they elected the Cardinal of Geneva, who was to take the name Clement VII.

“This is the only time in history that at least a large portion of the same group of cardinals elect two different men as pope,” Baumgartner said.

Over the next four decades there were two popes – at times even three popes – until the Council of Constance (1414-1418) formalized the authority of a single pope in Rome.

The conclave at which a cardinal was beaten

At the conclave of 1605, the cardinals supporting the church historian Cesare Baronius and the cardinals supporting the former soldier Domenico Tosco were so excited that they began pushing and shoving each other.

The commotion could be heard even outside the building. The elderly Cardinal Visconti suffered several broken bones. In the end, the cardinals chose someone both sides could agree on: Camillo Borghese, who became known as Paul V.

The conclave of 1605 was “the only case of this type of violence in a conclave where someone was actually injured,” says Baumgartner. “Sometimes there is some pushing and screaming, but it's mostly older men who don't have the energy to spend too much time pushing and screaming.”

The last conclave in which an emperor had veto power

In the conclave of 1903, the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I vetoed the leading candidate, Cardinal Mariano Rampolla.

“The emperor made use of the right of exclusion, or Exclusive onlyto block Rampolla’s election,” Massimo Faggioli, a professor of theology and religious studies at Villanova University, wrote in an email. “This right allowed certain Catholic monarchs to veto a candidate for the papacy.”

It is unclear why the emperor intervened.

There is a theory that Rampolla did not support a Catholic funeral for the emperor's son, Crown Prince Rudolf, because he took his own life, which he considered a sin. “Several people suspected that his son committed suicide,” Baumgartner said.

After his elevation, the elected Pope, Pius X, banned this type of veto.

The secrecy of the conclaves

After the controversy in 1903, the conclaves became much more secret. “We know a lot more about the election of, say, 1549 than we do about the 2013 election because the documentation — diaries, ambassadorial reports, ballot counts — all of that exists in abundance for most elections before 1903,” says Baumgartner.

The more secret the conclave process has become, the more likely conspiracy theories are to spread. As Faggioli explains, “in the 20th century, due to mass media, and now in the 21st century, due to social media, digital media, the crisis of mainstream media, conspiracy theories, etc., conclaves have acquired the potential to become more controversial.”

In the first conclaves, the cardinals were mostly Italian and knew each other's political views, so there weren't as many surprises. “The number of cardinals is very small, and they all knew each other very well,” says Baumgartner, “they knew what their sins were.”

The more cardinals there were in the 20th century, the more likely it was that the cardinals didn't know everyone in the room. If there are conclaves where cardinals learn secrets about each other, it is probably in the 20th and 21st centuries.

However, there is no known precedent for the bombshell secret revealed about the Pope-elect at the end of the film Conclave.