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

While Pope Francis battles pneumonia in hospital, work at the Vatican, headquarters of the 1.4 billion-member Catholic Church, continues apace. Although certain doctrinal matters require the pope's direct attention,

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.