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.

ROME (AP) — The Vatican on Sunday released the first photograph of Pope Francis in more than a month, showing the pontiff in a three-quarter view from behind wearing a purple stole typical of Lenten liturgical vestments and sitting in a wheelchair before the altar of his personal hospital chapel.