What happens to the leadership of the Catholic Church when a pope becomes sick or incapacitated?

Vatican City's laws and rituals for papal succession do not apply if a pope is sick or unconscious.

While the Vatican has detailed laws and rituals to ensure the transfer of power when a pope dies or resigns, they do not apply if he is sick or even unconscious. And there are no specific norms outlining what happens to the leadership of the Catholic Church if a pope becomes totally incapacitated.

As a result, even though Pope Francis remains hospitalized in critical condition with a complex lung infection, he is still pope and very much in charge.

Still, Mr. Francis' hospital stay is raising obvious questions about what happens if he loses consciousness for a prolonged period, or whether he might follow in Pope Benedict XVI's footsteps and resign if he becomes unable to lead. On Monday (Februayr 24, 2025), Mr. Francis' hospital stay will hit the 10-day mark, equaling the length of his 2021 hospital stay for surgery to remove 33 centimeters (13 inches) of his colon.

His prolonged illness and age — 88 — have revived interest about how papal power is exercised in the Holy See, how it is transferred and under what circumstances. And it points to the legislative loophole that currently exists in what to do if a pope gets so sick that he can't govern.

Mr. Francis may be in charge, but he already delegates the day-to-day running of the Vatican and church to a team of officials who operate whether he is in the Apostolic Palace or not, and whether he is conscious or not.

Chief among them is the secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. Other Vatican functions are proceeding normally, including the Vatican's 2025 Holy Year celebrations.

Canon law does have provisions for when a bishop gets sick and can’t run his diocese, but none for a pope. Canon 412 says a diocese can be declared “impeded” if its bishop — due to “captivity, banishment, exile, or incapacity” — cannot fulfil his pastoral functions. In such cases, the day-to-day running of the diocese shifts to an auxiliary bishop, a vicar general or someone else.