Pope Francis was hospitalized on Feb. 14, after suffering a bout of bronchitis for weeks and after increasingly finding it hard to speak publicly. His condition soon developed into double pneumonia. The 88-year-old pope,

Pope Francis’ condition “continues to be stable,” and “the recovery process is slow and requires time for the consolidation of the improvements [that have been] recorded in recent days,” the Vatican said at 7 p.

With Pope Francis entering his fourth week in hospital, those working in the Apostolic Palace are grappling with the continuing uncertainty over the pope’s health. The same is true for everyone in the Vatican.