The best memes from the 2025 papal conclave

The internet is going crazy for the papal conclave. On one hand, this isn’t surprising: it is an inherently dramatic and theatrical event, shrouded in secrecy and involving arcane rituals stretching back millennia. It lends itself to speculation and is somewhat ridiculous. 

But I don’t remember it being such a pop culture phenomenon when Pope Francis was elected back in 2013, which isn’t that long ago: pre Tik-Tok, but every other major social media platform was in full swing and so was meme culture – even if back then it still tended to revolve around the white block texts on low-res images and a recurring cast of characters with names like “Jealous Janet” and “Passive-Aggressive Possum”. To check I wasn’t misremembering this, I did a 2013 Google search for conclave memes: the seagulls hanging out on the roof of the Sistine chapel caught Twitter’s attention and there were some hilarious jokes doing the rounds (“Star Wars: A New Pope”), but that was about it. 

So what’s different this time? Why are people now so invested in papal gossip that they’re checking out a ‘Pope Crave’ updates account? The obvious answer is that a popular and entertaining film about this event was released in the last six months: Conclave has provided people with at least a basic knowledge of what’s happening (reportedly, even some cardinals have been watching the film ahead of their first stint in the Sistine Chapel to figure out how it works) and a handy set of references – the good cardinals are Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci; the bad ones are John Lithgow and the vaping Italian priest.  

At the risk of reading too much into a series of jokes, I also think the stakes feel higher this time round. As one viral tweet put it, “may God grant us a woke pope.” The Catholic Church is never going to be a radical institution, but Pope Francis was pretty progressive, all things considered. Right now, as hard-right authoritarianism is globally resurgent, it feels like the worst possible outcome is always the most likely – a conservative pope would be a depressing sign of the times, further confirmation that the world is in a dark place.

So however ironically it’s expressed, there’s something sincere in the outpouring of support for Luis Antonio Tagle, the kind-faced cardinal from the Philippines with relatively liberal views on migrants, LGBTQ+ people and single mothers. Whatever happens, let us join hands and pray that the result is a disappointment to the reactionary Catholic converts who have spent the last ten years beefing with Pope Francis for being too woke. 

Below, we round up some of the best memes about the ongoing conclave.