What 'Conclave' the movie gets right about the process of choosing a new pope

One of the most captivating dramas imaginable is about to begin. It's not happening on the big screen, but inside the Sistine Chapel.

It's time to select a new pope to head the Catholic Church. The conclave to elect the 267th pope and successor to Pope Francis gets underway Wednesday.

What makes it intriguing this time is last year's Oscar-winning movie that takes its name from the secretive process. The film stirred imaginations, leaving us wondering what really happens behind closed doors.

Unless you are a cardinal who has participated before, it's unknown exactly what happens behind the locked doors. "Conclave" the film, based on the book by Robert Harris, has allowed us to at least envision the sacred gathering.

But is the movie accurate?

Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony, who is a veteran of two conclaves, recalled the sacred duty with a great deal of humility.

"'What am I doing here?'" he recalled asking himself during the process. "I'm from North Hollywood, California. My dad was in the poultry business."

Mahony said he saw "Conclave."

"It's obvious the writers and producers have never been to a conclave," he said when asked about the film.

"It is really a totally enclosed secret process... Nothing gets in or out, there is no cellphone that works. Nothing works," he said.

Mahony's criticism isn't just aimed at the movie. He says even journalists get it wrong. The conclave is not a political event.

"I think most news departments cover a conclave like the Republican or Democratic convention," he said. "Exactly the same thing."

One thing the movie did get right is how each cardinal casts his vote, delivering it before three scrutineers sitting in front of Michelangelo's "The Last Judgment" and then dropping the ballot in an urn.

Also, he confirms they do pray - a lot. There are conversations with meals and they do listen to each other.

But Mahony says the most important part of a conclave is something that is difficult for most to grasp.

"The part of it that they would never understand is the presence of the Holy Spirit," he said. "The prayer. The silence that takes place."

But that silence is shattered once a cardinal receives two-thirds majority. Then the celebration begins.

Mahony will not be voting in this conclave due to his age. Only cardinals younger than 80 are allowed to vote. Meantime, he believes this will be a short conclave.