Pope Francis, in hospital in a critical condition with pneumonia in both lungs, passed a good night and was resting, the Vatican said today.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, will lead a public recitation of the rosary at 9 p.m. Feb. 24 in St. Peter’s Square.

The death of a sitting pope initiates a profound period of mourning and transition within the Roman Catholic Church, marked by a meticulously structured process to elect a new pontiff

The Vatican reports that Pope Francis is in critical condition after experiencing a prolonged asthmatic respiratory crisis Saturday morning according to the Vatican. "The Holy Father continues to be alert and spent the day in an armchair although in more pain than yesterday. At the moment the prognosis is reserved," the statement said.

Pope Francis remained in critical condition Monday but showed slight improvement and resumed some work activities

Sister Raffaella Petrini, an Italian nun, was named president of the Vatican City State, the 44-hectare (108-acre) territory in Rome that is home to the Catholic Church

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - While Pope Francis battles pneumonia in hospital, work at the Vatican, headquarters of the 1.4 billion-member Catholic Church, continues apace.

Many who know him said that Francis, driven by a sense of mission and a discipline born of his early training, essentially worked himself into the hospital.

ROME — Another woman is taking over a top management job in the Vatican : Sister Raffaella Petrini, an Italian nun, was named Saturday as president of the Vatican City State, making her essentially the governor of the 44-hectare (108-acre) territory in Rome that is home to the Catholic Church.