The newly elected Pope Leo XIV‘s brother has answered the question many were asking following the pivotal election.
The College of Cardinals made history yesterday when it elected Robert Prevost, the world’s first American pope, to fill the shoes of the late Pope Francis. The new pope is a Chicago native, and his American origins were a major point of conversation, excitement and debate Thursday. During an NBC News interview, his brother, Illinois resident John Prevost, opened up about their last conversation before the beginning of the pivotal papal conclave.
Noting that he and his brother talk regularly, Prevost revealed that he spoke to him right before the conclave commenced. They played Wordle and Words with Friends together to help keep the new pope’s mind off “life in the real world” for at least a few moments before finally discussing the then-forthcoming election.
“I said, ‘Well, do you have your red socks?’ Doesn’t go over well all the time,” Prevost confessed with a laugh. “I said, ‘Are you ready for this? Did you watch the movie ‘Conclave,’ so you know how to behave?’ He had just finished watching the movie ‘Conclave,’ so he knew how to behave.”
Many spectators joked online before, during and after the election this week whether or not any of the cardinals involved had watched “Conclave.” The 2024 film, based on Robert Harris’ 2016 novel of the same name, follows a good-hearted cardinal (Ralph Fiennes) as he is tasked with not only organizing and overseeing a conclave in the wake of the pope’s death but also navigating and uncovering a series of secrets and scandals that threaten to undermine and manipulate the election.
The film was a hit, grossing over $119 million at the worldwide box office. It went on to be nominated for a total of eight Oscars at the 2025 Academy Awards, where writer Peter Straughan ultimately took home the film’s only Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. In addition to its critical and financial success, the film inspired countless memes, invented the term “papal thriller” and introduced many viewers for the first time to the secrecy and methods of a papal conclave.
It should, therefore, come as a delight to those same viewers that Pope Leo XIV actually watched “Conclave” in preparation for the election that saw him ascend to the highest possible papal position. Speaking further with NBC News, John Prevost said his primary concern when he spoke with his brother before this week’s conclave was simply to try to distract him from his life for a little bit.
“I wanted to take his mind off of it,” Prevost explained. “You know, laugh about something, because this is now an awesome responsibility.”
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