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.

The Vatican released on Sunday the first photograph of Pope Francis in a month, showing the pontiff in a view from behind wearing a purple stole – typical of Lenten liturgical vestments – and sitting in a wheelchair before an altar at the hospital chapel.