Daily evening prayers will be held for Pope Francis at the Vatican's St. Peter's Square as he remains hospitalized in Rome, Italy, for a complex lung infection.

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

The Vatican announced on Monday that it will hold a rosary for Pope Francis's health in the evening in St. Peter's Square.

On Monday, Pope Francis showed modest improvement in lab tests and resumed some work, including calling a parish in Gaza City, the Vatican said.

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