Time-honored rituals, drafted and refined over centuries, allow time for mourning and provide order at a dramatic moment of transition.

Just outside the hospital, hundreds of the faithful with their own stories stop to pray every day at the feet of the statue of St. John Paul II at Gemelli Hospital.

The Vatican says Pope Francis has continued making decisions and is improving, but his two-week hospital stay poses uncomfortable, unanswered questions about Vatican decision-making.

Concerns over Pope Francis' health have mounted in recent years as have questions about his succession. Here's what we know.

The Vatican said doctors had to put him on noninvasive mechanical ventilation following a coughing fit in which he inhaled vomit that needed to then be extracted.

(AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) FILE-- The tapestries showing late Pope John Paul II, left, and Pope John XXIII hang from the facade of St. Peter’s Basilica as faithful and pilgrims crowd St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Friday, April 25, 2014.

Catholics in Rome gathered to pray outside the hospital where Pope Francis is being treated and remains in a 'critical' condition.

A special meeting of Cardinals has reportedly been scheduled, though the Vatican denies that it is linked to any announcement of the 88-year-old pontiff stepping down. Still, others ask why the Pope hasn't at least appeared from his hospital window.

This was the first and only time a pope visited the Alamo City, drawing an estimated 350,000 people to his outdoor Mass at Westover Hills.

Pope Francis’ medical team says the pontiff's condition isn’t life-threatening. But they said Friday that Francis isn't out of danger.