With Pope Francis entering his fourth week in hospital, those working in the Apostolic Palace are grappling with the continuing uncertainty over the pope’s health. The same is true for everyone in the Vatican.

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

Pope Francis is showing a "good response" to his treatment in hospital for double pneumonia and his overall condition is gradually improving, the Vatican said on Saturday. Francis, 88, has been in Rome's Gemelli hospital for more than three weeks with a severe respiratory infection that has required continuously evolving treatment.