While the Vatican has detailed laws and rituals to ensure the transfer of power when a pope dies or resigns, they do not apply if he is sick or even unconscious.

JD Vance was mocked Thursday for offering “cringe” advice to young men he says mainstream U.S. culture now opposes: Crack a beer, tell jokes, and embrace your masculinity. The

The Vatican No. 2 led faithful in a somber night-time prayer on Monday as Pope Francis continued to battle pneumonia in both lungs at a hospital in Rome.

The Vatican reported another slight improvement in Pope Francis's condition on Thursday, as the 88-year-old spent his seventh day in hospital being treated for double pneumonia.

Faithful gathered at St. Peter's Square in the Vatican and outside Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Monday (February 24) as Pope Francis remains critically ill but alert, according to the Vatican. Could these jumping mice change how astronauts exercise?

The pope looms so large in everyday Italian life that there are lots of expressions that make light of even a dark event like his death.

Pope Francis, who is spending his fifth day in hospital for what doctors described as a "complex" respiratory infection, will not take part in this weekend's Holy Year events, the Vatican said on Tuesday.

Matt Campuzano, a 10-year-old from Marple, Pennsylvania, is looking ahead to his spring basketball season and keeping Pope Francis in his prayers. Matt has a special connection to the pope, who embraced him while making the rounds in his popemobile in Center City in September 2015,

As Pope Francis remains critically ill, students and faculty at the University of Dallas are praying for his healing.

Pope Francis remained in critical condition Monday but showed slight improvement and resumed some work activities

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