The Vatican has laws to ensure the transfer of power when a pope dies or resigns, but they don't apply if he is sick.

ROME – Pope Francis rested during a peaceful night following a respiratory crisis and blood transfusions, the Vatican said ...

The terse update comes as Pope Francis remains in critical condition following a respiratory crisis on Saturday that required ...

Pope Francis has asked Catholics to pray for him, as he continues to receive treatment in hospital for double pneumonia. The ...

Pope Francis, who has been hospitalized for more than a week, had a peaceful night which “passed quietly” after suffering ...

The update to Francis’s condition came Sunday in the written text of his regular Angelus prayer after he had been listed as ...

ROME — Pope Francis was conscious but still receiving high flows of supplemental oxygen Sunday following a respiratory crisis ...

The brief update came after doctors said the 88-year-old pope, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, was in ...

Doctors have said Francis' condition is touch and go, given his age, fragility and pre-existing lung disease, and that the ...