Mykola Bychok, a cardinal of Ukrainian descent, was the sole representative from Australia at the recent conclave.

In an interview with The Guardian, he shared that the process of electing a new Pope is nothing like the Hollywood film "Conclave", which attempts to portray the political machinations behind the selection of a fictional pontiff.

"I watched the film, but it turned out to be quite controversial, especially regarding prayer. Did you see any of the cardinals praying in it? Not once. It’s totally in the Hollywood style," noted Cardinal Bychok.

In recent years, the tradition of electing the head of the Catholic Church has involved isolating the conclave participants. For instance, this year, mobile communication was completely disabled in the Vatican during the voting period.

The bishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church joked that the temporary disconnection from the outside world was a relief for him.

"This was the best time of my life. Just try turning off your phone for 24 hours. Mine was off for two and a half days," the cardinal emphasized.

Mykola Bychok was born in Ternopil, studied at the Blessed Mykola Charnetsky Higher Spiritual Institute in Lviv, as well as at a seminary in Poland.

In 2004, he was ordained a deacon, after which he served in Russia, Lviv, and Ivano-Frankivsk. Since 2015, he has been fulfilling the duties of vicar of the Ukrainian parish in Newark (USA).

Mykola Bychok was appointed to serve in Australia in 2020, where he became the bishop of the Melbourne diocese a year later.

In December 2024, Pope Francis bestowed upon him the title of cardinal.

Earlier, we discussed the meaning of the name chosen by the new Pope and why pontiffs do this.