Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Conclave

Edward Berger’s political thriller Conclave has wowed both audiences and critics with its dramatic final twist, which sees an interSєx priest accidentally elected to the office of pope. The movie’s ending plays on the idea that only men can be chosen as head of the Roman Catholic Church by its electoral College of Cardinals. The Afghan Archbishop Vincent Benitez being chosen having only recently become a cardinal seems unusual enough for the church, until it’s revealed that Benitez in fact has a uterus and ovaries. In this way, Conclave raises questions about whether there’s ever been a female pope in reality.

Many churches around the world have women bishops, and even female heads of denomination. Still, there is no possibility for a woman to become pope, since in the Catholic Church women are not allowed to be cardinals, bishops or even priests. Conclave’s surprise ending implies that, according to Church doctrine, it would be less acceptable for someone born with female organs to become pope than a hardliner calling for a religious war against Muslims like Cardinal Tedesco, or a corrupt priest like Cardinal Tremblay. This point notwithstanding, there is a story attributed to legend that suggests the Catholic Church may have had a female pope.

Legends Suggest Pope Joan Was The First & Only Female Pope

She Disguised Herself As A Man To Reach The Catholic Church’s Highest Office

According to a story that originated with a Catholic historian of the Dominican order, Jean de Mailly, in the 13th century, there was a female pope known by the name of John Anglicus. Her real name was Joan, and she’s said to have disguised herself as a man before reaching the priestly post of cardinal. She was supposedly elected pope in 855 AD, before being killed two years later when it was discovered that she was carrying a child.

According to a revised edition of another history book by Dominican friar Martin of Opava, Joan was from Mainz, in the Rhineland part of southern Germany, and took the official name John VIII upon her ascension to the papacy, just as Cardinal Benitez takes the name Pope Innocent XIV in Conclave. Following these two historical references, the legend of a female pope called John, or Joan, grew until it began to be dispelled in the 16th century.

There Has Never Been An Official Female Pope Confirmed In History

Pope Joan Is Considered A Purely Mythical Figure By Most Modern Historians

It’s important to clarify that there is no mention of a female pope in the official records of the Catholic Church. During the years in which Pope Joan is supposed to have ruled, the official head of the Church was Pope Benedict III, a proven historical figure with recorded start and end dates for his papacy. The third edition of Martin of Opava’s Chronicon Pontificum et Imperatorum explains away this problem by suggesting that the idea of a female pope was so untenable that Joan’s story had to be removed completely from official records, and covered up by an alternate history.

Most modern historians agree that the legendary figure of Pope Joan probably didn’t exist. Historical references to her only began appearing around 400 years after she was supposed to have lived, and it’s noteworthy that the first two editions of Martin of Opava’s historiography didn’t include any mention of her. Nevertheless, her story is worth returning to in light of the issue that Conclave’s ending has raised.

Why Women Can’t Be The Pope

According To The Catholic Church, Women Weren’t Ordained By Christ

Women can’t be the pope, according to the Catholic Church, because those who are ordained as priests ultimately take their direction from Jesus Christ and his apostles. Using the Bible as its source, the Church has determined that only men can be ordained as priests, because when he was on Earth Jesus only chose men to be his 12 disciples (via Catholic.com). If women can’t become priests, then there is no way for them to become bishops, cardinals, or the pope.

The brilliance of Conclave’s plot twist is that it gets around the prohibition of women from offices of the Catholic Church not by an imagined rule change or a transgressive act by someone outwardly female. The Sєx of Cardinal Benitez is a biological fact, and yet, he is still made a cardinal and elected pope. The likelihood of such a thing happening in reality is miniscule, but this plot point serves its purpose simply by raising a philosophical challenge about the nature of gender roles in the Roman Catholic Church.

Sources: Catholic.com