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

A secret meeting, and echoes of Benedict’s exit, have heightened talk that Francis could resign, too. But the possibility is anyone’s guess.

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

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

The latest statement suggests that the 88-year-old is able to sit in his chair, eat normally and do what the Vatican calls "light work".

The slight renal insufficiency the pope had in recent days subsided and a CAT scan of the chest showed a normal evolution of the pulmonary inflammatory picture.