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

Pope Francis on Monday received a visit from Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the Substitute for General Affairs Mons. Edgar Pena Parra at Rome's Agostino Gemelli Hospital, the Vatican press office said in a bulletin on Tuesday.

Entrusting the pope "to the powerful intercession of most holy Mary," the cardinal said, "may she sustain him in this time of illness and help him to recover."

As Pope Francis remains hospitalized, speculation intensifies over who could be the next leader of the Catholic Church

The Vatican has detailed laws and rituals to ensure the transfer of power when a pope dies or resigns, but not when he is sick

Following the death of a pope, or in rare cases of resignation such as with Pope Benedict XVI, the Vatican convenes a papal conclave, in which the College of Cardinals come together to elect the Church’s next head.

Pope Francis remains in “critical but stationary” condition, according to the medical report released by the Vatican this evening. The report does not mention any improvement since yesterday’s medical update.