The Australian press recently interviewed 45-year-old Ukrainian Cardinal Mykola Bychok, and reporters asked him about the accuracy of the Hollywood film, “Conclave.”
Cardinal Bychok, the youngest cardinal who participated in the 2025 papal conclave, answered these questions:
1) “Is it [the conclave] really like the movie, or is it different in real life?”
2) “Did you talk about the movie together?”
Cardinal Bychok says he watched the film, but “it was controversial, especially about prayer.”
He explains that in the movie, cardinals did not pray – “not one time.”
He adds that the primary purpose of the papal conclave is “to pray, not only to vote.” He says the movie “was not helpful.
Watch the Ukrainian Cardinal Mykola Bychok’s explanation below:
Here’s the text of the video:
“Is it really like the movie, or is it different in real life?” the reporter asks.
“No, it wasn’t helpful. I think so. Because you should understand the main reason during the conclave: to pray. Not only to vote, no. It’s second. To pray together.”
“Did you talk about the movie together?” another reporter asks.
“Yes, I watched the movie, but actually, it was controversial, especially about prayer. Have you seen in this movie that cardinals pray? Not one time, which is Hollywood-style.”
Several users reacted to the cardinal’s answer. One user said he explained it “beautifully.”
“Beautifully explained! And PLEASE, Hollywood is not the real world,” the user commented.
“I didn’t enjoy or like the movie, but they did pray, actually,” one person refuted. “The one who became pope, he prayed before the dinner once. However, ‘the movie didn’t prioritize prayer even though this is the main reason for being secluded during conclave’ is correct.”
“Great pointing out the most important issue in the movie, among all of the very serious issues,” someone else said.
“Youngest cardinal in the conclave. Love this dude,” another user added. “Excited to see where the Holy Spirit takes him!”
