Conclave author Robert Harris talked with CNN’s Anderson Cooper about the process of selecting a new pope.
Harris’ novel, published in 2016 by Knopf, tells the story of Cardinal Lomeli, the dean of the Roman Catholic Church’s College of Cardinals, who is managing the conclave that will choose the next pontiff. In a starred review, a critic for Kirkus called the book “an illuminating read for anyone interested in the inner workings of the Catholic Church; for prelate-fiction superfans, it is pure temptation.”
The novel was adapted into a 2024 film directed by Edward Berger and starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, and John Lithgow. The movie was nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning in the adapted screenplay category for Peter Straughan; it saw a spike in its streaming numbers following the death of Pope Francis earlier this week.
Harris told Cooper that the selection process is “much more political than the Vatican generally likes to pretend.”
“This is 110, 115 really sophisticated men, big political players in their own countries, some of them with followings of millions, tens or even hundreds of millions [of] people,” he said. “It’s a very sophisticated electorate, and it’s a highly political process. For me, I was a political journalist—most of my novels have to do with politics—[and] this was the greatest election one could possibly cover.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
