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

Pope Francis was in critical but stable condition Tuesday as he worked from the hospital while battling double pneumonia, and the Vatican

The combination of health issues has kept the Pope from performing his public duties, including weekly prayers on Sundays, but his doctors have recently said he is alert, joking, and continuing to work, as well as reading messages from well-wishers around the world.