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

Pope Francis, who has been in hospital for almost three weeks battling double pneumonia, is in stable condition and is doing some physical therapy, the Vatican said on Thursday.

Pope Francis had a good night in hospital in Rome, the Vatican said on Thursday morning, where he is being treated for pneumonia. "The night passed quietly; the pope is still resting," the Holy See Press Office said in a statement.