A two-millennia-old rite that remains the only form of lifetime election of what can fully be considered an absolute authority—one capable of adapting its laws to the changing times and thus ensuring its own survival—the conclave, that is, the election of the pope, was compelled in the twentieth century to confront its own mediatization. The paper explores the evolution of the conclave in its media dimension, highlighting how a traditionally secret and ritual event has progressively become a global spectacle through the lenses of audiovisual media and social networks. The habemus papam and the first images of newly elected pontiffs broadcast worldwide have contributed to the construction of an idea of the papacy that cannot be underestimated. From Pius XI and Pius XII through to the conclaves of Pope Francis and Leo XIV, the research here presented try to analyse how the collective imagination has been shaped by transmitted images, journalistic commentary, and the logics of television spectacle, as well as by cinema and television series—thus showing the entry of the conclave into mass culture. In doing so, it sheds light not only on the media effects but also on the ecclesiological repercussions, as well as the political and symbolic transformations that follow from them. It also addresses the risks associated with narrative simplification, the politicization of the conclave, and the spread of fake news.