The death of Pope Francis necessitates the gathering of the College of Cardinals in Vatican City, known as a papal conclave, which comes less than six months after the acclaimed movie Conclave has some inaccuracies. That said, Conclave is far from the only movie to have been made about the pope. Over the past century, dozens of films and TV shows have portrayed both real and fictional popes as major characters.

The position has been featured as an important part of many historical movies and TV shows. Various fictional and non-fictional depictions of the pope have served as the basis for some of the best Christian movies of all time, as well as several compelling political dramas. Not all of the best TV and film characterizations of the pope are dramatic renderings, though, as multiple documentaries about the now-deceased Pope Francis demonstrate.

10 Martin Luther

1953

This classic biopic about the father of the Protestant Reformation stars Irish actor Niall MacGinnis in the titular role, but also features Pope Leo X, as played by Philip Leaver. Leo X is the pope synonymous with the rebuilding of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. According to the plot of Martin Luther, this construction project was funded by the pope conferring clerical titles and indulgences, a form of forgiveness in the Catholic Church, on worshippers in exchange for donations.

The movie was co-produced by the Lutheran Church, and while it contains historical inaccuracies, it’s generally an entertaining watch that rarely strays into outright dogmatism. MacGinnis revels in the opportunity to act out Martin Luther’s imioned arguments in defense of his ideas and the sanctity of the Christian Gospel, most notably in his historic “Here I Stand” speech in front of the Holy Roman Emperor, at the Diet of Worms in 1521.

9 Becket

1964

Becket isn’t just one of the best movies ever made about the pope. It’s among the best movies of Peter O’Toole’s celebrated career as an actor, alongside the likes of Lawrence of Arabia and Goodbye, Mr. Chips. O’Toole plays the temperamental King Henry II, who unexpectedly appoints the commoner Thomas Becket, played by Richard Burton, as Archbishop of Canterbury, the most senior religious title in England.

What follows is a tempestuous political drama rich with intrigue, in which Pope Alexander III is forced to intervene to protect the interests of the Catholic Church. The eponymous central character of the film finds himself caught between a rock and a hard place, as John Gielgud’s King Louis VII of also tries to turn the situation to his advantage. Boasting some of the finest British and Irish actors of its generation, Becket is predictably full of powerhouse performances worthy of its status as a masterful historical epic.

8 The Agony and the Ecstasy

1965

Although it isn’t generally considered one of Charlton Heston’s best movies, The Agony and the Ecstasy features one of the most moving performances of the legendary actor’s career. Heston plays Michelangelo opposite Rex Harrison’s Pope Julius II, and the film centers on the painting of the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel by its main character.

Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel between 1508 and 1512 under Pope Julius II, and then again between 1535 and 1541 under Pope Clement VII and Pope Paul III.

The title of the movie is a reference to the pain Michelangelo endured in the process of creating his greatest artistic masterpiece, as well as the emotional response his work engenders. While not on the same plane of genius, The Agony and the Ecstasy is a fine piece of work itself, too, directed by Carol Reed, whose most famous movies include The Third Man and Oliver!.

7 We Have A Pope

2011

Almost four decades on from historical films like Becket and The Agony and the Ecstasy, the Italian-French black comedy We Have a Pope (originally entitled Habemus Papam in Italy) took a very different approach to depicting the Holy See. Like Conclave, the movie follows the process of electing a new pope, only with a more satirical tone given its comedic bent.

Nevertheless, the twist in the tail of We Have a Pope is almost as brilliant as Conclave’s. The movie poses the question of how psychotherapeutic treatment can work alongside the doctrine of the Catholic Church in a sensitive and wonderfully human way, which helps make it a hidden gem of a papal story that’s more than worth a watch.

6 The Borgias

2011–2013

The Borgias is a gripping historical-political drama about the rise of the real-life House of Borgia, a wealthy noble family from Spain who got their hands on the papacy via the election of Pope Alexander VI. Jeremy Irons plays this pope as a corrupt schemer who’ll stop at nothing to get what he and his family want.

This TV show is among the most bingeable Showtime has ever produced, and is perfect for fans of thrilling costume dramas from Game of Thrones to Wolf Hall. While it was canceled after three seasons as a cost-cutting measure by its TV network, the series has only grown in stature since its release, and remains one of the best dramas ever produced about the pope.

5 The Young Pope

2016

If The Borgias had a real story to tell, then The Young Pope began a succession of fictional movies and TV shows devoted to imagined behind-the-scenes intrigues at the Vatican. Jude Law plays the titular character of this 10-episode miniseries, which follows the attempts of a newly elected young American pope to implement a radical shake-up of the Catholic Church.

Jude Law's character Lenny Belardo is fictional, but it is theoretically possible for the Catholic Archbishop of New York to later become pope.

Meanwhile, The Young Pope’s machiavellian cardinal, Angelo Voiello, brings out his smartest tricks in an attempt to curb the ambitions of Pope Pius XIII, as those at the top of the Church look to resist the changes Jude Law’s character is trying to enact. The result is a darkly comic satire from Paolo Sorrentino that skewers institutional authority in a manner that rivals the best work of Veep and The Thick of It creator Armando Iannucci.

4 Pope Francis: A Man of His Word

2018

Not every decent movie or TV show featuring the pope falls under the umbrella of history, satire, or political thriller, however. Pope Francis: A Man of His Word is a Universal-produced documentary that involves the recently deceased head of the Catholic Church talking candidly into a camera for most of its 96 minutes.

The movie is an undeniably engrossing watch, thanks primarily to the figure it’s about. Whatever else could be said about him, Pope Francis was certainly a worldly intellectual who could hold court charismatically on a whole range of topics, from Italian neorealist cinema to the nature of faith.

3 The Two Popes

2019

One of the most acclaimed movies ever made about the position of pope, The Two Popes is a dramatization of the true story about Pope Benedict XVI’s conversations with the future Pope Francis between 2005 and 2014. While much of the film's script is based on published and verified quotes from its two protagonists, who are played by Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce, respectively, there is plenty of dramatic embellishment thrown into its story for good measure.

Screenwriter Anthony McCarten based The Two Popes on his own play, The Pope, based on Joseph Ratzinger and Jorge Mario Bergoglio's real contributions to philosophical debates within the Catholic Church.

The dramatic license it takes only serves to elevate the movie, though, as it peers beneath the veil of the papacy to capture sides of these two popes we didn’t get to see. Even if what we see depicted onscreen never really happened as The Two Popes presents it, the film reveals a picture that an interview given specifically with the public in mind never could.

2 The New Pope

2020

This sequel to The Young Pope, released five years after its forerunner, sees the return of Jude Law’s Pope Pius XIII and Silvio Orlando’s Cardinal Angelo Voiello alongside a new central character, John Malkovich’s new pope John Paul III. Despite having a hard act to follow, The New Pope is a welcome continuation of the story that manages to maintain The Young Pope’s penchant for wickedly dark humor and delightfully villainous intrigue.

The Young Pope and The New Pope go down a treat back-to-back if politically-motivated subterfuge is what you’re looking for.

The show is definitely far more enjoyable if you watch The Young Pope before it, but the two miniseries go down a treat back-to-back if politically-motivated subterfuge is what you’re looking for. It remains to be seen whether there’s anything newer than The New Pope in the offing from Cardinal Voiello and co., but it’d surely be lapped up by the show’s sizable cult following.

1 Conclave

2024

With a real conclave set to begin in May and end with the election of a new pope, it’s already time to revisit Edward Berger’s brilliant 2024 political thriller, Conclave. The movie was rightly considered a contender for the Best Picture Oscar during much of its theatrical run, with its rivetingly intricate plot superbly rendered on screen by an ensemble cast that includes Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, and John Lithgow.