Pope Francis' doctors on Monday "are prudently maintaining their cautious prognosis" as the pontiff's condition "despite its severity has shown a slight improvement" in respiratory and kidney issues at Gemelli Hospital in Rome.

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.

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