The Vatican, though, made alternative plans for Ash Wednesday next week, making clear Francis still had a long road ahead.

The setback comes on the eve of two full weeks of hospitalization and casts uncertainty on the pope's recovery.

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

Pope Francis suffered a sudden episode of respiratory difficulty and was put on a breathing machine on Friday, according to ...

Pope Francis, 88, has been in Rome's Gemelli hospital for two weeks, after being admitted with a severe respiratory infection.