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

Pope Francis remains in critical condition, with blood tests showing mild signs of kidney failure “which is currently under control,” the Vatican said Sunday, as the 88-year-old pontiff battles pneumonia in both his lungs.

ROME — Pope Francis was in critical condition Saturday after he suffered a prolonged asthmatic respiratory crisis while being treated for pneumonia and a complex lung infection, the Vatican said.