A statue of late Pope John Paul II stands outside the Gemelli Hospital where Pope Francis is receiving medical treatment Outside the Gemelli Hospital in Rome stands a large statue of one of its most famous patients,

Faithful make the sign of the cross during a rosary vigil prayer for Pope John Paul II's health in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Friday, April 1,

Photographer's shadows are cast on a marble statue of late Pope John Paul II outside the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome where Pope Francis is being treated for pneumonia, Thursday,

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

The Vatican says Pope Francis has continued making decisions and is improving, but his two-week hospital stay poses uncomfortable, unanswered questions about Vatican decision-making.

The Vatican said doctors had to put him on noninvasive mechanical ventilation following a coughing fit in which he inhaled vomit that needed to then be extracted.

Catholics in Rome gathered to pray outside the hospital where Pope Francis is being treated and remains in a 'critical' condition.

Just outside the hospital, hundreds of the faithful with their own stories stop to pray every day at the feet of the statue of St. John Paul II at Gemelli Hospital.

(AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) FILE-- The tapestries showing late Pope John Paul II, left, and Pope John XXIII hang from the facade of St. Peter’s Basilica as faithful and pilgrims crowd St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Friday, April 25, 2014.

A special meeting of Cardinals has reportedly been scheduled, though the Vatican denies that it is linked to any announcement of the 88-year-old pontiff stepping down. Still, others ask why the Pope hasn't at least appeared from his hospital window.

This was the first and only time a pope visited the Alamo City, drawing an estimated 350,000 people to his outdoor Mass at Westover Hills.