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

Pope Francis is alert after suffering two episodes of "acute respiratory failure" on Monday afternoon, the Vatican has said. Doctors were forced to intervene to clear mucus from the Pope's lungs, an update from the Holy See said, though it said he was alert throughout.

Pope Francis suffered two episodes of acute respiratory insufficiency and went back on a ventilator as he remains hospitalized for double pneumonia, the Vatican said Monday night.