If you couldn’t tell by the rest of my blog posts already, I have a heightened interest (and intense love!) for food and food history. The complex ways that globalization interacts with access to ingredients and cooking techniques has always intrigued me, and I am a person that always picks up a regional cookbook from wherever I travel. Thus, whenever a historical event is in process, the question that always sits in the back of my mind is, “how will this affect food?”
In the case of the 2025 papal conclave, I was immediately fascinated by the prospect of what the cardinals were eating whilst carrying out the secretive and sacred ritual of choosing the next Pope. As it turns out, I was not the only one who was curious. In my search for answers, many different articles and video essays popped up regarding the menu and meals served to the cardinals. I wanted to share a few of my favorite sources on the subject here!
The first source I found came from a channel I have long loved: “Tasting History with Max Miller.” As a food history enthusiast, I have been an adamant viewer of Max Miller’s online food web series for sometime, and I was thrilled to see that he had uploaded a video taking viewers through the history of the papal conclave, and cooking a dish of sweet and savory ribs that were served at, as he puts it, “one of the most infamous conclaves in history.”
Apparently, to keep the conclave short and concise, previous menus were kept very simple—limited to bread and water. However, in recent times, these strict rules have been allowed to bend for the nutritional health of the cardinals.
One article from the BBC (1) elaborates on these rules and tells us that the seclusion of the 135 cardinals within the Sistine Chapel is still upheld; the cardinals vote, sleep, and eat in the same place until a pope is chosen. For the May 7th, 2025 conclave, the nuns at the Domus Sanctae Marthae will prepare “simple dishes” for the cardinals to eat. This apparently includes, “minestrone, spaghetti, arrosticini (lamb skewers) and boiled vegetables.” While this is more than bread and water, it still seems to me that the cardinals are adhering to a simpler diet while at the conclave.
Another source (3) tells that the menu is specially catered to the event, with nutrition and energy at the forefront of the cooks’ minds. Breakfast is meant to give immediate energy, lunch is to be light and satisfying, and dinner must be something “easy to digest” with protein and healthy fats. The cardinals are apparently also offered snacks with tea and coffee, as they are working throughout the day.
I have to say, based on these sources, the level of thought and care that goes into the papal conclave menu is immense, and speaks to the passion and importance of such an event for not only those participating, but for the awaiting faithful population around the world.
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