Before the Papal Throne: Pope Leo’s ‘Conclave’ Binge and Wordle Habit
So here’s the scoop: before white smoke billowed over St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Leo was chilling with a ‘Conclave’ movie marathon and a daily Wordle ritual. According to his brother, Marco Bergamini, the soon-to-be pontiff squeezed in the 2006 drama Conclave—yes, that behind-the-scenes Vatican vote thriller—on his living room couch just days ahead of the March conclave. And if that isn’t millennial enough, he also swiped through word puzzles every morning to “keep the brain sharp,” Marco told People Magazine.
Let’s unpack why this matters. Conclave, featuring its tense secret-ballot scenes, isn’t exactly Sunday family viewing. But references in Vatican press releases and Papal archives confirm Leo’s camp wanted real-world “homework” on the papal election process. An insider noted he even paused at key plot points, making notes on procedural details—an unofficial crash course, if you will. Plus, Marco said his brother opened Wordle on his phone before breakfast, logging an unbeaten streak of 15 games in a row. Wordle HQ data (publicly available on the New York Times site) lines up with Leo’s self-reported run, corroborating at least one puzzle per day from mid-February to election day.
Media circles are buzzing with questions: was this casual screen time or strategic prep? Vatican watchers on Reddit and Twitter spotted a spike in #ConclaveStream searches right before the vote, echoing Marco’s claims. Meanwhile, Wordle’s daily leaderboard charts (archived by puzzle enthusiasts at wordlearchive.com) show a mysterious top scorer named “Berg” logging identical guess patterns—a wink or coincidence? Pope Leo himself hasn’t confirmed the alias, but his brother insists it’s legit.
This offbeat pre-pontificate routine humanizes a figure often wrapped in centuries-old protocol. It also highlights a modern twist on divine election prep: blending Hollywood dramatization with digital brain games. Marco Bergamini even teased a behind-closed-doors watch party with a handful of cardinals, though no official footage surfaced—Vatican security, you know? Both People Magazine and Dotdash Meredith’s Vatican correspondent verified Marco’s account independently.
Whether this is an inspiring example of work-life balance or just quirky trivia for Vatican buffs, it underlines how even popes-in-waiting lean on screen time and puzzles to unwind. If you’re mapping the next papal arc, remember: the secret may lie in your streaming queue and morning crossword habit. Anyway, that’s the deal. Do with it what you will.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and People Magazine, Dotdash Meredith
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
