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Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Spoilers for the ending of Conclave. Cardinal Vincent Benítez (Carlos Diehz) is elected pope and takes the name Innocent. The final reveal is that Benítez was born intersex and declined surgery that would have removed his uterus. Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) learns the truth and chooses to keep it private.
How Benítez wins the election
The expected contenders lose support as revelations and political maneuvering unsettle the conclave. After an attack near the Vatican, some cardinals call for retaliation. Benítez instead speaks from his experience in conflict zones, making a plea for restraint and humanity. His appeal shifts the room: the cardinals elect him pope.
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He chooses the name Innocent. The election is followed by a private conversation that changes how Lawrence understands the man the cardinals have chosen.
What is the final twist?
Lawrence asks Benítez about a medical appointment. Benítez explains that he was born intersex, that the late pope knew, and that he declined a proposed laparoscopic hysterectomy that would have removed his uterus. He tells Lawrence, “I am what God made me.” This is a line spoken by the fictional character, not a statement from a real-world Church authority.
#1 Best Overall
- Genre: Mystery / Suspense
- Number of Discs: 1
- Number of Tracks: 0
- Playback Duration: 121
- Rating: PG
Lawrence keeps the disclosure confidential and supports Benítez’s election. The film does not present the reveal as proof about what would happen under real-world Church law; it is a fictional choice at the heart of the story.
Why does Lawrence keep Benítez’s secret?
Lawrence has spent the film questioning the demand for certainty. He argues, “If there was only certainty and no doubt, there would be no mystery and therefore no need for faith.” Benítez’s account of living “between certainties” gives that idea a personal dimension. Lawrence’s decision suggests that he sees Benítez’s character and capacity to lead as more important than exposing a deeply private fact.
Rank #2
- Blu-Ray
That choice can be read as compassionate acceptance, protective secrecy, or both. The film leaves the tension intact: Lawrence safeguards Benítez, but the new pope’s election begins with a truth concealed from the institution he will lead.
Is the ending hopeful or unsettling?
Director Edward Berger has described the ending as a possible “crack” in a patriarchal institution through which light might enter. He also said he thinks Lawrence recognizes that “the right person becomes pope.” These are Berger’s interpretations, not the only conclusions the film requires viewers to draw. Den of Geek’s interview with Berger discusses that view.
Rank #3
Screenwriter Peter Straughan has said he hoped viewers would remember both Lawrence’s prayer for a pope who doubts and Benítez’s sense of existing between certainties. Meanwhile, Isabella Rossellini has described the film as ending with a “big question mark.” Together, those perspectives fit the film’s mixed tone: Benítez’s election offers hope for change, while Lawrence’s silence leaves open how much the institution itself has changed.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How the film relates to the novel
Conclave is adapted from Robert Harris’s novel. Focus Features describes the film as an adaptation and has published an interview with screenwriter Peter Straughan about bringing Harris’s story to the screen: Focus Features’ interview with Straughan. The novel is optional background; the film’s ending can be understood on its own.
Quick Recap
Best Value
Rank #4
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