Happy Conclave Day to those who celebrate!
The scarlet cassocks are pressed, the holy drip is immaculate, and Vatican City has officially gone into airplane mode.
Beneath Michelangelo‘s greatest hits, the College of Cardinals are, at this very moment, swearing an oath of secrecy and preparing to begin the mysterious process of electing the next supreme pontiff.
Everyone… it’s time. We made it. The Conclave has officially begun.
Let the holiest lock-in to ever grace the internet begin.
As soon as the master of pontifical celebrations utters the words, “extra omnes,” a Latin phrase meaning “everybody out,” the Vatican will shut their doors, giving everybody the boot (including the internet sadly) to begin their secret election.
(Side note: 15-year-old Latin scholar me would have been SO hyped for the Conclave.)
Will it be Cardinal Tagle, a progressive favorite? Or will it be the conservative Cardinal Erdo? Only time will tell.
But while we all sit glued to the Papal chimney livestream waiting for the white smoke to rise, here’s a roundup of the funniest Conclave reactions the internet has to offer.
The Memes
The Cardinals Watched Conclave to prepare for the actual Conclave.
It’s true. According to Politico, most of the current Cardinals have never experienced a real-life Conclave. So, what did they do? They watched the 2024 Oscar-nominated film starring Ralph Fiennes to prepare for the complex and secretive ritual.
“Some have watched it in the cinema,” a cleric admitted.
Apparently, crowds started to gather to watch the red-robbed divas descend on the Vatican 10 hours before the ceremony began.
At home, people donned their holiest of holy fits in preparation for the big livestream.
The Cardinal Tagle fangirling is about to reach new heavenly heights.
The divas have entered the chapel. We repeat, the divas have entered the chapel.
Turns out, real-life Conclave is a lot like the movie.
Guys, he said it: “extra omnes.“ It’s officially officially Conclave time.
Get on that chimney livestream now!!
Just know that when a senior Cardinal steps onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and proclaims “habemus papam.”
It means we have a Pope.
