The Vatican has detailed laws and rituals to ensure the transfer of power when a pope dies or resigns, but not when he is sick

There has long been a Vatican taboo against openly talking about a conclave when a pope is sick: It’s considered gauche to speculate about the election of a new pope while the current one is fighting for his life.

A Nigerian Catholic priest said if Pope Francis dies, God would give the church another Pope. He said the church is transparent about his hospitalisation.

And there are no specific norms outlining what happens to the leadership of the Catholic Church if a pope becomes totally incapacitated. As a result, even though Pope Francis remains hospitalized ...

People of the Catholic faith around the world are lighting candles and praying for the health of Pope Francis while he recovers from pneumonia.

Cardinals, according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), are bishops and Vatican officials from all over the world who are personally chosen by the pope. They are recognizable by their red vestments and they elect a new pope when the time comes.

The changes Francis brought to the papacy were more than skin deep. He opened the church to the outside world in ways none of his predecessors had done before.