The election of a new pope is a complex process involving hundreds of cardinals that can stretch up to weeks on end. But the general public seems to have found its own way to show support for their pontiffs of choice.

Pope Francis has suffered a serious setback in his two-week battle with double pneumonia. Newsweek's live blog is closed.

The Vatican, though, made alternative plans for Ash Wednesday next week, making clear Francis still had a long road ahead. Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, a Vatican official and former vicar of Rome, will preside over the March 5 ceremony and procession that inaugurates the church's solemn Lenten season leading up to Easter in April.

Pope Francis was in critical but stable condition Tuesday as he worked from the hospital while battling double pneumonia, and the Vatican

Pope Francis was well enough Tuesday to meet with his No. 2 to approve new decrees for possible saints, even while still hospitalized in critical but stable condition for double pneumonia and kidney failure.

The Vatican reported Friday that he experienced sudden breathing problems that required “non-invasive mechanical ventilation” but that he remained “alert.”