51 pages • 1 hour read
Robert HarrisConclave
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2016A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 1-4Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 1 Summary: “Sede Vacante”
Content Warning: This section of the guide references sexual abuse, biased language against Black people and Muslims, and biased attitudes and language towards intersex people.
Jacopo Cardinal Lomeli, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, rushes to the Casa Santa Marta upon hearing that the pope’s death is imminent. The pope resides in the same small room he occupied during the conclave that elected him, instead of his larger, luxurious apartment at the Apostolic Palace. When Lomeli arrives at the papal apartment, he is surprised to learn that he is the last of the senior Vatican officials to arrive.
The pope’s confessor, Joshua Cardinal Adeyemi of Nigeria, begins praying the liturgy to bless the pontiff in his final moments. Lomeli is unmoved by the prayer, having recently experienced a crisis of faith that rendered all his attempts at prayer meaningless. Shortly after a bout with prostate cancer that went into remission, Lomeli asked to resign to monastic life. The pope rejected his request during their last meeting, indicating that he needed Lomeli at the Vatican. He stressed that Lomeli was a “manager,” not a “shepherd.”
After announcing the pope’s death, the Camerlengo, Joseph Cardinal Tremblay of Canada, orders the removal of the late pope’s ring to signal the papal throne’s vacancy. In the aftermath, the Secretary of State, Aldo Cardinal Bellini, wonders if he might be able to keep the chess set that he and the late pope used to play games. Lomeli encourages him, considering that Tremblay will seal the pope’s apartment.
Lomeli confers with the other senior officials on how to announce the pope’s death. While listening to the others’ accounts, he learns that Tremblay held off on calling him for over two hours. Tremblay justifies his decision, saying that he was more concerned with observing ecclesiastical procedures than with ensuring Lomeli’s presence. He presents Lomeli with a printed timeline of the night’s events and the late pope’s medical records. Lomeli proposes the most diplomatic approach to the announcement. He later realizes that the three other officials are already trying to outperform one another, hoping to gain an advantage in the contest for succession.
Despite Tremblay’s protests, out of courtesy Lomeli personally informs the pope’s chief critic, Goffredo Cardinal Tedesco, of the pope’s death. Based on Tedesco’s reaction, Lomeli suspects that he already heard the news. Tremblay proposes to move the pope’s body to the mortuary so that they can leverage press exposure to their advantage. Adeyemi objects, fearing the loss of the pope’s dignity, though he is the only one to protest.
Tremblay arranges the pope’s movement to the ambulance-on-standby. He takes it upon himself to speak to reporters, closely followed by Adeyemi. Bellini and Lomeli remain behind, opting to celebrate Mass instead. Bellini confides that the pope had lost faith in the Church.
Chapter 2 Summary: “Casa Santa Marta”
The Sistine Chapel is renovated to accommodate the College of Cardinals and insulate them from external influence. Lomeli oversees the preparations while trying to familiarize himself with the cardinals eligible to participate in the vote. He lectures two subordinates on his personal history with the conclave, beginning with his childhood fascination with the conclave’s pageantry.
Lomeli inspects the Room of Tears, where the newly elected pope will be clothed for his proclamation on the balcony over St. Peter’s Square. He also inspects the chimney where they are to burn each ballot to signal the conclave’s progress to the public. Lomeli’s secretary, Monsignor Raymond O’Malley, who is assisting Lomeli, informs him that the Prefect of the Papal Household, Archbishop Janusz Woźniak, would like to speak to the dean. Because Woźniak refuses to explain his reasons for meeting so urgently, Lomeli prioritizes the preparations. He soon changes his mind and decides to make time for the prefect after the cardinals arrive.
The Casa Santa Marta is likewise prepared to host the college. The rooms are distributed by lot. Lomeli is assigned to a second-floor room near the late pope’s apartment. After praying at the pope’s door for strength and wisdom, he settles into his room, reckoning with his insecurities as a manager.
Lomeli hears the indistinct noise of protestors and military security outside the Vatican. He and his subordinates greet the cardinals as they arrive at the Casa Santa Marta, reassuring them of the security procedures. He recognizes the cardinals by their political stances and theological perspectives. He also identifies the voting blocs likely to emerge based on geography and predicts whom they might vote for. The European bloc holds the dominant majority of cardinals, though they are not united behind a single candidate. Finally, Lomeli recognizes the self-importance of certain cardinals who believe they will be elected pope despite their greed and ambition.
Lomeli is determined to cast his vote for Bellini because of his industriousness. Though Bellini is reluctant to be elected, he knows as a liberal that his withdrawal would leave the papacy open for Tedesco to claim. Tedesco, who looks like a common man but is a hardline conservative traditionalist, soon arrives.
Chapter 3 Summary: “Revelations”
With the cardinals all accounted for, Lomeli prays for the conclave. He is reminded of his appointment with Woźniak, the former prefect, which he must fulfill before the college is insulated.
Woźniak immediately confesses to keeping a grave secret at Tremblay’s direction. He reveals that on the day the late pope died, he fired Tremblay from his offices. Woźniak resolved to keep the news secret but then learned that Tremblay has a strong chance of becoming pope. Lomeli tries to uncover the reasons behind Tremblay’s dismissal, but Woźniak only knows that the Pope’s secretary, Monsignor Hector Morales, was present at the meeting. He suspects, however, that Tremblay may have persuaded Morales to keep the meeting secret.
O’Malley informs Lomeli that another cardinal has arrived, one who does not appear on any of the college’s records. Vincent Benítez, the Filipino Archbishop of Baghdad, was made a cardinal in pectore, meaning that the pope appointed him cardinal in secret, presumably for his safety from anti-Christian persecution in Iraq. Bellini confirms that the pope discussed the intention to appoint Benítez with him months earlier. Though Bellini is skeptical about Benítez’s participation, Lomeli decides to admit him.
They introduce themselves to Benítez. Although Bellini tries stressing the problematic consequences of Benítez’s arrival, Lomeli dismisses his concerns. Benítez traveled empty-handed for his own safety, so Lomeli instructs O’Malley to provide him with basic amenities.
After vespers, Lomeli takes a nap. He has a nightmare about the pope entering the Room of Tears. Hearing voices in the corridor, he suspects Adeyemi is his neighbor. Before dinner, he reviews the sermon he will give at the mass to commemorate the conclave’s start. The homily traditionally sets the tone for the election, sometimes swaying it in the favor of a certain cardinal, but Lomeli’s homily promises to be relentlessly neutral.
Chapter 4 Summary: “In Pectore”
At dinner, Lomeli checks in on Benítez. He introduces the new cardinal to the rest of the college, inviting Benítez to say grace before their meal. Benítez sits with his countrymen, who speak with pride about his missionary work in Africa and the Middle East. Some of the African cardinals recognize him as well, and all know him by reputation. Listening to their stories of his work, Lomeli realizes Benítez’s appeal to the late pope.
Bellini and Tedesco sit at separate tables filled with their respective supporters. Tedesco asks Lomeli if he will deliver his homily in Latin. When Lomeli indicates it is in Italian, Tedesco uses an argument for Latin to advocate for traditionalism. He believes that Latin will unite the world’s cardinals under a common language once again, undoing the divisive impact of the Second Vatican Council. He even goes so far as to suggest that the papacy may soon move out of Rome unless they reinstate Latin as the Church’s official language.
Lomeli, Bellini, and the Milanese Cardinal Sabbadin discuss Tedesco’s resistance to compromise and his shrewd strategies for maintaining his political positions. Sabbadin predicts that Tedesco will have a strong lead towards the two-thirds majority required to elect the new pope. Bellini identifies himself as Tedesco’s opposition, advocating for tolerance and progress. Sabbadin cautions him against his stances on women serving in the Church. Bellini nevertheless argues for it, noting the late pope’s openness towards the idea. When he reminds everyone that he is reluctant to seek the papacy, he becomes sick and leaves dinner early. Afterward, his supporters discuss how to campaign for more votes.
Lomeli finds Tremblay Toward the end of dinner, Lomeli confronts Tremblay about his dismissal by the pope. Tremblay denies Woźniak’s allegations, denouncing it as part of a smear campaign against his bid for the papacy. He urges Lomeli to confirm the story with Monsignor Morales. He nevertheless refuses to disclose the subject of his final meeting with the pope, confirming Lomeli’s suspicion that he is lying.
Chapters 1-4 Analysis
The novel uses the death of the pope as an opening salvo to establish its primary narrative concerns. Inevitably, the conclave’s progress is the key narrative thread, raising the question of who is fit to lead the Catholic Church in the wake of the late pope. Alongside it are two other narrative threads, one involving Cardinal Lomeli’s crisis of faith and the other involving the mystery of the late pope’s disillusionment with the Church. At the moment, these threads seem disparate, and one of the novel’s challenges is to tie them together and derive greater meaning from their synthesis.
Although many cardinals are introduced in Chapter 2, four are singled out as potential frontrunners for pope as early as Chapter 1. Two of these candidates represent opposite poles of political tension within the Church. Tedesco represents unrelenting fidelity to tradition while Bellini represents openness to change and compromise. Though they both make compelling arguments about their respective views, their dichotomy speaks to the human element that makes the institution of religion prone to both error and reform.
Tedesco, for instance, sees the Second Vatican Council as a mistake, even as it made Catholicism more accessible to the wider modern world. His advocacy would bring the Church closer to its roots but also make it cold and inaccessible to the vast majority of Catholics, which Bellini fears.
Bellini is reluctant to assume the papacy because he knows the role is too big for him to manage responsibly. He nevertheless opens himself to the possibility out of principle. He wants to defend the Church’s current trajectory towards openness, tolerance, and progress, as initiated by the late pope. However, Sabbadin, one of Bellini’s closest supporters, reminds him that some of his ideas may be too progressive for the vast majority of cardinals to accept, revealing the tension between liberalism and traditionalism among the Church’s leaders. To effectively push his advocacy forward, Bellini would have to accept the challenge of the papacy more willingly and prepare himself for compromise.
Unlike Tedesco and Bellini, who stand for their respective approaches to ministry, Tremblay’s candidacy is based on pure ambition. What he stands for is unclear, partly because his character suggests that he is amenable to any path that offers an advantage. This is evident throughout the first chapter when he undermines Lomeli on the night of the pope’s death. Tremblay excludes Lomeli from participating because he wants to control the narrative around the pope’s death.
Adeyemi similarly seeks the papacy out of ambition and though his politics lean closer to Tedesco’s, he espouses his views out of a desire to appeal to supporters, rather than out of sincerity. This is evidenced by his willingness to intercept Tremblay to meet the press, unwilling to let him get all the attention. The tensions between these four candidates drive two of the novel’s major themes, The Politics of Religion and Human Ambition and Divine Providence.
The previous pope is represented as a man of simplicity, illustrated by his rejection of the luxurious Apostolic Palace in favor of the humble Casa Santa Marta. This character trait offers a clue into the mystery of his apparent loss of faith—if the pope valued simplicity and humility, then his loss of faith could have something to do with the Church’s opposite values of luxury, indulgence, and corruption. The pope’s loss of faith resonates with Lomeli’s own personal crisis, which gives him the motivation to investigate it if only to illuminate his own struggle. On the other hand, Lomeli’s doubt may undermine his ability to manage the conclave smoothly. These details establish The Challenge of Faith as a third major theme.
Towards the end of the section, with the sudden arrival of Cardinal Benítez, it becomes clear that the late pope has set his own plan in action. Although Benítez has no influence in the election, his strong reputation among the cardinals who hail from the Global South is a wild card. The secrecy around his appointment raises the question of what else the pope was hiding from his peers and how Lomeli might uncover his true motivations.
Related Titles
By Robert Harris
