"The kind of Oscar campaign we've never seen before" - Netizens draw parallels with the plot of 'Conclave' and Pope Francis' health crisis

The Edward Berger-directed movie Conclave is being heavily discussed on social media amid Pope Francis’ health crisis. The head of the Catholic Church was hospitalized on February 14 after suffering from bronchitis. As such, people began wondering who would eventually become the successor to the 76-year-old, with the movie seemingly depicting how the next Pope would be selected as well.

On February 23, the movie's actress Isabella Rossellini spoke to reporters following the movie ensemble’s Screen Actors Guild Awards win. While discussing Pope Francis’ current predicament, she said:

“We are very, very worried for our pope. We love this pope- Papa Franceso, Pope Francis. We wish him well. We wish him to recover.”

The movie which stars Stanley Tucci, Ralph Fiennes, John Lithgow, and others, is a fictional take on the closed-door process of appointing a new sovereign of the Vatican City.

Several netizens took to social media to discuss how a new Pontiff will have to be elected if Pope Francis does not get past his polymicrobial infection. Some tweets read:

“Pope Francis is giving Conclave the most promo it’s ever gotten,” an X user said.

“please god protect pope francis he has to live a hundred years at least we need him especially during these times where fascism is on the rise i dont want conclave to win the best picture oscar that bad anyway,” another netizen said.

As per The Independent, Pope Francis remains in critical condition. The Vatican also confirmed that he had early kidney failure. Pope Francis is the successor of Pope Benedict XVI, who resigned in 2013. Meanwhile, some other reactions read:

“I think the Conclave is a great movie and all and it should get the oscar, but i can't believe they killed pope francis just for a marketing campaign,” an X user said.

“If Pope Francis passes away, ticket sales of “Conclave” will probably shoot up. No such thing as bad PR,” another internet user said.

“If Pope Francis dies and Conclave wins best picture at the Oscars, we will have opened a spiritual vortex I’m not sure we can close,” another platform user said.

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How does a real-life conclave occur? Details revealed as movie garners traction online

According to the Independent, the process of selecting a new pope is called the “Papal Conclave.” The system has reportedly not changed in the past 800 years. The news outlet revealed that the Pope must always be male and Catholic.

The system begins with a special morning mass followed by 120 Cardinals of voting age gathering inside the decorated Sistine Chapel. After the “extra omnes” shout, Cardinals must take an oath of secrecy, while being locked inside and choosing the next successor.

While inside the Sistine Chapel, the Cardinals select three Scrutineers who oversee the voting of the next pope, while three others collect the vote and revise the same. A Pope is elected once a single candidate receives a two-thirds majority.

Once the Pope has been elected, the ballot papers are burned twice in a small fire that subsequently tells the world that a new Pontiff has been chosen.

The new Pope is then led to the Room of Tears adjacent to the Sistine Chapel, where he wears new white robes and red slippers.

The movie was rated 93% by Rotten Tomatoes and also boasted an IMDb rating of 7.4/10.