Faithful gathered at St. Peter's Square in the Vatican and outside Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Monday (February 24) as Pope Francis remains critically ill but alert, according to the Vatican. Could these jumping mice change how astronauts exercise?

While the Vatican has detailed laws and rituals to ensure the transfer of power when a pope dies or resigns, they do not apply if he is sick or even unconscious.

Cardinal Michael Czerny says Pope Francis has meant a great deal to the Catholic church — and to the world — as he served with a view to the 'common good.' Czerny, a Canadian who was appointed to his current role by Francis,

As Catholics around the world pray for Pope Francis to recover from health ailments that have left the 88-year-old pontiff in critical condition, "Conclave," a fictional thriller about the process of selecting a new pope,

Catholics in Buenos Aires attended Mass on Sunday to pray for Pope Francis' recovery. (Video by Cristian Kovadloff)

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.

The combination of health issues has kept the Pope from performing his public duties, including weekly prayers on Sundays, but his doctors have recently said he is alert, joking, and continuing to work, as well as reading messages from well-wishers around the world.

For the latest news, view USA TODAY's story on the pope for Wednesday, Feb. 25. Pope Francis remained in "critical but stable" condition Tuesday, receiving the Holy Eucharist, working from his hospital room and receiving his daily therapy for bronchitis and pneumonia.

Pope Francis is sitting upright and receiving therapy for double pneumonia while he remains in critical condition.

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

Pope Francis was a frequent visitor to Rome long before he became pope. Now his favorite shops and artisans are pulling for him as he battles double pneumonia.