Pope Francis’ death has sparked new interest in Conclave, the fictitious political thriller last year about how cardinals elect a pope. A Notre Dame expert on the pope is a fan of the movie, and she expects many Americans will get up early Saturday to watch the pope’s funeral.
Since Pope Francis’ election in 2013, national media have turned to Notre Dame history professor Kathleen Cummings as a papal expert and commentator. She’ll get up early for his 4 a.m. Eastern Standard Time funeral, as she’ll be commenting on it live from NBC’s studios in New York.
And Cummings thinks many Americans also will tune in. It’s the first time since Pope John Paul II died in 2005 that a pope has died while still serving as pope.
"So I think it's a rare enough event, and I do think that Pope Francis was beloved among many U.S. Catholics, and I think many of them will set their alarms to get up early tomorrow," Cummings says.
As for the movie Conclave, the Guardian reported that streaming viewership jumped 283% the day after Pope Francis died. Cummings says she enjoyed the film.
"I thought it got many details right," she said. "Obviously there was some outlandish Hollywood aspects to it but it got some things very right, it was meticulously researched, and I know I watched it with interest, knowing that there was going to be a real conclave before too long, and of course here we are."
