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

Pope Francis, who has battling pneumonia for two weeks, is showing signs of improvement, the Vatican has said in a medical update. He will remain in hospital due to a complex clinical picture, the Vatican said on Friday morning. It added the 88-year-old had another "peaceful night" and is "now resting" in Rome's Gemelli Hospital.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis, who has been in hospital for two weeks battling double pneumonia, has spent another peaceful night and is now resting, the Vatican said on Friday.

Despite his hospitalization, the pope has maintained a degree of governance and authorized the appointment of four new bishops.

The Vatican says Pope Francis has continued making decisions and is improving, but his two-week hospital stay poses uncomfortable, unanswered questions about Vatican decision-making.

Pope Francis is continuing his slow recovery from double pneumonia and beating back speculation of an imminent death, resignation or conclave.

Pope Benedict XVI officially stepped down as leader of the Roman Catholic Church, citing a "lack of strength of mind and body."

The pontiff's condition is touch-and-go, given his age, fragility and pre-existing lung disease, according to doctors.