When the Vatican elects Pope Francis’ successor

4 min readJan 14, 2025

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Over the course of my life four new Popes have been installed by the Catholic Church. Robert Harris’ thriller, Conclave, which was recently released as a motion picture, is about the next election. Set a few years in the future, when a man closely resembling Pope Francis has either retired or died, the novel depicts in minute detail the process of electing his successor. It’s a picture of Vatican politics from the inside. And it’s written from the perspective of the Dean of the College of Cardinals, the man who presides over the election.

I am not now and never have been Catholic. Somehow, though, I found Harris’ reverential accounting of the liturgical and atmospheric details to be bearable. Yes, there’s a lot of praying, and considerable repetition when that’s called for in the process. Still, Conclave hums with the same tension and anticipation that I’ve come to expect from Robert Harris’ work. No doubt about it: this is a work of suspense. And it works.

VATICAN POLITICS REFLECTS THE FORCES DIVIDING THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Harris highlights the powerful factions, cliques, and doctrinal differences that divide today’s Catholic Church. He brings to life the ongoing battle between traditionalists and reformers. But he makes beautifully clear that the division is far more complex than is often represented in the news media. He also shows how other factors deepen the currents of jealousy that cleave the institution. These include the clannishness of the Roman Curia and of the many Italian Cardinals, the split between European and Third World loyalties, the venality of so many senior Cardinals, and the raw ambition that rises to the surface when 118 powerful men enter a room and know that one of them will be elected the most noticeable religious figure in the world.

This is an expanded and edited version of the review that posted on November 28, 2016.

CONCLAVE BY ROBERT HARRIS (2016) 304 PAGES ★★★★☆

Cardinals in conclave to elect a new pope in the Sistine Chapel in 2005. The gathering resulted in the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as pope. He took the name Benedict XVI, later resigning to pave the way for Pope Francis. Image: Britannica

WHO WILL SUCCEED POPE FRANCIS?

This novel, and the film on which it’s based, is timely. Reports from the Vatican suggest that Pope Francis is ill. It will be no surprise if the Church must assemble a new conclave soon to elect his successor. Francis, who is Argentine and represents the most liberal elements in the Church, may give way to a new pope with similar leanings. After all, Francis has been in office for more than a decade. He has named 20 of the 140 now eligible to vote. And even before those appointments, the last conclave elected him. We should not be shocked to see another pope who is a person of color and African, Asian, or (less likely) South or Central American. But of course we’ll see. Others are far more qualified to read Vatican politics than I am. Maybe Robert Harris is one of them.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A former journalist, Robert Harris has written a number of nonfiction books in addition to the eleven novels that have put his name on the map. Most of the novels are historical fiction. The best known of these are Fatherland, Enigma, Archangel, and The Ghost, all of which have been adapted for film or television. He has also written a superb trilogy set in ancient Rome that’s based on the life of the celebrated orator Cicero..

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