The global reaction to the recent death of Pope Francis and the ensuing election of Pope Leo XIV confirmed the centrality of the Vatican to its 1.3 billion followers and the international political landscape. The Vatican is the world’s smallest sovereign city-state with a tiny permanent population of 882, yet has immense influence. The intensely hierarchical Holy See is far from transparent. Secrecy, scheming, intrigue, and subterfuge have been the hallmarks of its modus operandi, to which the film Conclave (2024) so grippingly alludes.