A secret meeting, and echoes of Benedict’s exit, have heightened talk that Francis could resign, too. But the possibility is anyone’s guess.

Pope Francis continued oxygen therapy Wednesday from his armchair on the 10th floor of the Agostino Gemelli Hospital in Rome, according to the Holy See Press Office.

Pope Francis continues to be in serious but stable condition as he concludes his 12th day in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, the Vatican said Feb. 25. The pope was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Friday, Feb. 14, to undergo testing and treatment for bronchitis.

Catholics in Rome gathered to pray outside the hospital where Pope Francis is being treated and remains in a' critical' condition.Joaqu ín Mbana Nchama walks with reverence toward the white marble statue of former Pope John Paul II,

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

Spanish pilgrims gather outside Pope's hospital in Rome to show their support. The group of 50 Catholics, accompanied by the Bishop of Minorca, Gerardo Villalonga, prayed in front of the statue of Pope John Paul II.

Gandhi’s Scant Garb Bars Audience with Pope.” So read the headline of a New York Times report, from December 13, 1931, that the Vatican had cancelled a meeting between Pius XI and “the Indian nationalist leader” because the Pope thought he might be criticized “if he received the visitor in his usual scanty clothing.

With Pope Francis remaining in critical condition fighting a complex respiratory infection and bilateral pneumonia, the cardinals and curial officials in Rome have organized a rosary and special Mass for the pontiff.

The Gemelli hospital has been treating popes for more than thirty years.

Rome's Gemelli hospital, where Pope Francis is being treated for pneumonia, is the favoured choice of pontiffs — to the point of being dubbed "Vatican III" by John Paul II. The 88-year-old Francis is on his fourth stay at the Gemelli since 2021.