An old saying about the Vatican holds that “the pope is never sick until he’s dead,” and this position has held true in various cycles of papal health crises throughout recent history, until now, with Pope Francis’s current hospital stay.

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has written and spoken at length about sickness, aging and death, and personally directed that his doctors provide the fairly detailed daily updates that have punctuated his own battle with pneumonia.

A group of faithful gathered under the statue of John Paul II at Gemelli hospital on Sunday afternoon to pray for Pope Francis’ health.

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

Pope Francis has spent 19 full days at Rome's Gemelli hospital, however, it doesn't come close to approaching the record-long stays of St. John Paul II during his quarter-century pontificate.

As Pope Francis has battled double pneumonia at Rome's Gemelli hospital since Feb. 14, the Vatican has been trying something new. The Holy See press office has been giving daily updates on his condition.

According to the Vatican, there have been 266 popes in the Catholic Church starting with St. Peter and going all the way up to the current pontiff, Pope Francis

Just as Popes John Paul II’s and Benedict’s final days revealed their understandings of the papacy, Francis’ illness has revealed him once again as the world’s parish priest, suffering close to his people.

Pope Francis has written and spoken at length about sickness, aging and death, and personally directed that his doctors provide the fairly detailed daily updates that have punctuated his own battle with pneumonia.