The slight renal insufficiency the pope had in recent days subsided and a CAT scan of the chest showed a normal evolution of the pulmonary inflammatory picture.

Pope Francis has shown a "further, slight improvement" in his medical condition, the Vatican said on Wednesday, in a sign of progress as the 88-year-old pontiff battles double pneumonia. The pope is spending his 13th night at Rome's Gemelli hospital,

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