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Plot
After the Pope dies of a heart attack, the College of Cardinals gathers in seclusion for a papal conclave to choose the new pope, under the leadership of Cardinal-Dean Thomas Lawrence. The College is surprised by the arrival of Archbishop Vincent Benitez of Kabul, who claims the late pope secretly made him a cardinal.[a]
The four main candidates for pope are Bellini, a liberal in the vein of the late pope; Adeyemi, a Nigerian with socially conservative views; Tremblay, a mainstream conservative; and Tedesco, a reactionary traditionalist who wants to reverse parts of the Second Vatican Council. Bellini and Lawrence are the two leaders of the Church's liberal wing, but neither claims to want the papacy. Before the first vote, Lawrence gives a sermon encouraging the cardinals to embrace doubt and uncertainty, which is seen by some as a campaign speech. Lawrence learns Benitez was close to the former Pope, who paid for Benitez's plane ticket to Switzerland for a medical appointment that was later canceled. Further, the late pope's confidant tells Lawrence that the pope demanded Tremblay's resignation hours before dying. Tremblay vigorously denies this.
After the first vote, no candidate is close to the needed two-thirds majority. However, Adeyemi has a slight edge, and Bellini and Lawrence split the liberal vote. Without a unity candidate, the liberals consolidate behind Adeyemi over the protests of Bellini, who despises Adeyemi's homophobia. Bellini accuses Lawrence of secretly trying to win the papacy for himself, an allegation Lawrence denies. Sister Shanumi, a Nigerian nun handling domestic tasks, causes a stir by confronting Adeyemi in the cardinals' refectory. She confesses to Lawrence that she and Adeyemi had an illicit relationship that resulted in the birth of a son who was given up for adoption. Although Lawrence is duty-bound to keep the secret, a whisper campaign derails Adeyemi's candidacy over the next few votes. Adeyemi suspects a setup, as Shanumi never left Nigeria before appearing at the conclave. Bellini transfers his support to Tremblay in order to block Tedesco.
Head nun Sister Agnes informs Lawrence that Tremblay arranged for Shanumi's transfer to the Vatican. Lawrence breaks into the late pope's apartment and finds documents showing that Tremblay bribed cardinals for votes. Bellini urges Lawrence to burn the documents, but admits that he agreed to support Tremblay's candidacy in exchange for a prestigious bureaucratic appointment. Lawrence and Agnes publicize Tremblay's bribery to the cardinals, thereby destroying Tremblay's candidacy. Lawrence and Tedesco are now the only remaining major candidates, although Benitez has steadily gained support, to Lawrence's continuing surprise.
During the sixth vote, a suicide bomber attacks the Vatican, killing many in the crowd outside and damaging the Sistine Chapel. Tedesco angrily blames Islamists and calls for the Church to fight a war against Islam. Benitez responds that violence should not be met with violence, saying he has seen the true cost of war during his time in the Congo, Baghdad, and Kabul. Moved, the cardinals elect Benitez as pope on the seventh ballot.
Lawrence discovers Benitez's canceled medical visit was for a laparoscopic hysterectomy and confronts him. Benitez explains he was intersex and assigned male at birth, but did not know he also had a uterus and ovaries until a recent appendectomy. Benitez goes on to explain he chose to keep his female organs, stating, "I am as God made me." Agreeing to keep Benitez's secret, Lawrence listens to the crowds cheer Benitez's election as Pope Innocent XIV.
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