There has long been a Vatican taboo against openly talking about a conclave when a pope is sick: It’s considered gauche to speculate about the election of a new pope while the current one is fighting for his life.

Time-honored rituals, drafted and refined over centuries, allow time for mourning and provide order at a dramatic moment of transition.

The Vatican press office has released a statement saying the pope had a peaceful evening of rest in hospital and is continuing his recovery in the hospital on Friday.

Pope Francis is continuing his slow recovery from double pneumonia and beating back speculation of an imminent death, resignation or conclave.

People in Rome and the Vatican are relying on their faith as they cope with the daily anxiety waiting to hear about the pope’s health.

The Vatican says Pope Francis has continued making decisions and is improving, but his two-week hospital stay poses uncomfortable, unanswered questions about Vatican decision-making.

People paddle in the sea at Copacabana Beach, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Nuns pray in front of the statue of late Pope John Paul II outside Gemelli Hospital, where Pope Francis continues his treatment for pneumonia, in Rome, Italy. Poplar trees next to Sefton Park Allotments in Liverpool cast long shadows in the evening sun.