In Edward Berger’s Conclave, the conclave elects Cardinal Vincent Benítez — the Archbishop of Kabul, secretly named a cardinal by the late pope — who takes the papal name Innocent. After the white smoke rises, Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) learns Benítez’s hidden truth: he is intersex, and once booked a hysterectomy in Geneva that he cancelled — “I am what God made me.” Lawrence keeps the secret. The film closes with Lawrence throwing open a window to flood the Vatican with light and air — while a tortoise ambles across the sunlit courtyard and three nuns laugh in the garden below.
Spoiler recap: how the conclave gets there
The pope has died suddenly, and Cardinal Lawrence, Dean of the College of Cardinals, must run the secret election of his successor. The early voting splits between rival factions: the hardline Italian traditionalist Cardinal Tedesco, the progressive Cardinal Bellini, and Cardinal Tremblay, whose vote-buying Lawrence exposes. Frontrunner Cardinal Adeyemi collapses when Sister Agnes publicly reveals his past misconduct.
Then a stranger arrives: Archbishop Vincent Benítez of Kabul, carrying documents showing the late pope named him a cardinal in pectore — in secret. Meanwhile, Lawrence’s aide Monsignor O’Malley keeps digging into one loose thread: why the late pope paid for Benítez to fly to a clinic in Geneva for a medical procedure that was ultimately cancelled.
The bombing and the election
Midway through the voting, a terrorist bombing shakes the Sistine Chapel. The cardinals are unharmed but shaken, and the crisis turns the election into a referendum on the Church’s future. Tedesco seizes the moment to demand a holy war against Islam in a furious, xenophobic tirade — and Benítez stands up to interrupt him.
Drawing on his years ministering in war zones, Benítez delivers an impassioned speech for peace: the Church is not about the past or tradition, he says, but about “what we do next.” The speech moves the fractured college. On the final ballot, Benítez is elected overwhelmingly and takes the papal name Innocent.
The revelation: “I am what God made me”
The twist lands after the election, in a private audience. O’Malley finally uncovers what the Geneva procedure was: during unrelated abdominal surgery as an adult, doctors discovered Benítez had been born with a uterus and ovaries alongside male sex organs. A laparoscopic hysterectomy was scheduled in Geneva — and cancelled.
Confronted by Lawrence, Benítez explains he had never known he was intersex until adulthood. He offered his resignation to the late pope, who refused it. After prayer and reflection, Benítez cancelled the surgery: “I am what God made me.” He believed altering God’s design would be sinful.
Lawrence faces a decision that echoes every secret he buried during the conclave — and once again, he buries it. Benítez is already pope, so disclosure would be a betrayal; it would not have changed the election’s outcome; and Lawrence believes the corruption-soaked Church might genuinely benefit from the perspective of a man who exists between the world’s certainties.
The final image: turtles, the open window and the laughing nuns
The closing sequence is pure symbolism. Lawrence returns to his quarters and spots a tortoise wandering in the Vatican palace — an animal tied to Benítez, who sought the turtles out during the conclave, and to the late pope, who was fond of them. Ralph Fiennes has said the turtles symbolize “spiritual independence”, and their amphibious nature — at home on land and in water — mirrors the new pope’s own in-between nature.
Then Lawrence opens the window. Light, air and life flood back into the shuttered Vatican, and from the garden below comes the sound of three nuns laughing. Director Edward Berger has described it as “the promise of a more egalitarian tomorrow with a Pope who might offer some understanding for all people, no matter their gender or sex”.
Competing interpretations
| Reading | What it means |
|---|---|
| A hopeful reform | The turtles, the light and the laughing nuns announce a Church finally opening up — led by a pope whose very body embodies inclusion. |
| The cycle continues | The white smoke rises and the secrets stay buried — the institution absorbing its outsider intact. |
| The late pope’s design | The late pope named Benítez in pectore, buried the Geneva file and steered the college toward a successor only he fully understood. |
Conclave ending: FAQ
Who becomes pope at the end of Conclave?
Cardinal Vincent Benítez, the Archbishop of Kabul appointed in secret by the late pope, becomes Pope Innocent XIV.
What is Cardinal Benítez’s secret?
He is intersex — born with male sex organs plus a uterus and ovaries. He scheduled a hysterectomy in Geneva, then cancelled it.
Why does Lawrence keep the secret?
Benítez is already pope when Lawrence learns the truth. Lawrence judges that revealing it would be a betrayal, would not have altered the election, and that the Church could use Benítez’s perspective.
What do the turtles symbolize?
According to Ralph Fiennes, “spiritual independence”. They are linked to both Benítez, who seeks them out, and the late pope, who loved them — and their amphibious nature echoes Benítez himself.
What does the final window scene mean?
Lawrence throws open the window so light and air return to the Vatican, and hears three nuns laughing in the garden — which director Edward Berger frames as the promise of a more egalitarian Church.