In the photo, Pope Francis appears slightly slumped in his wheelchair, adorned in white robes and a purple stole before an altar at the Rome hospital where he has been a patient since Feb. 14. The shot is not head on — perhaps because it remains frowned upon in the Holy See to capture clear images of an ailing pope.

Pope Francis is registering new slight improvements in his monthlong treatment for pneumonia in both his lungs, the Vatican said Monday, as it also provided some details on the first