Pope Francis has met leading Vatican officials in hospital as he continues his recovery from pneumonia in both lungs.
The pontiff, 88, who is receiving treatment at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, met Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra, the so-called Vatican “substitute” or chief of staff.
In its Tuesday lunchtime update on his condition, the Vatican said Francis, who was admitted earlier this month, approved decrees for five people for beatification and two new saints.
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He also agreed to call a formal meeting to set the dates for their canonisation during the audience on Monday.
Both the actions and the meeting are considered part of the normal papal routine.
In a later bulletin, the Vatican announced that Francis had additionally named a handful of new bishops for Brazil, named a new archbishop for Vancouver, and modified the law for the Vatican City State to create a new hierarchy.
The Pope “slept well, all night”, the Vatican’s earlier update said.
Thousands gathered in St Peter’s Square on Monday night to pray for the Pope. Pic: AP
On Monday evening, as thousands of people gathered in St Peter’s Square to pray for him, doctors said that, while he remained in critical condition, he had shown a “slight improvement” in some tests, the most upbeat bulletin in days.
Francis had resumed work from his hospital room, calling a parish in Gaza City that he has kept in touch with since the war there began, officials said.
Doctors have said the condition of the Argentine pontiff, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, is touch-and-go, given his age, fragility, and pre-existing lung disease before the pneumonia set in.
Francis has previously said he has written a letter of resignation, in case he becomes medically incapacitated.
Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga told La Repubblica he had seen “everything he [Francis] did for the church, with a great love of Jesus. Humanly speaking, I don’t think it’s time for him to go to paradise.”
Over the weekend, the pontiff suffered a “prolonged respiratory crisis” that required a high flow of oxygen, as well as an “initial, mild” kidney problem.
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The Vatican also said he had blood transfusions after tests revealed thrombocytopenia, which is associated with anaemia.
Doctors said on Friday that he was “not out of danger” and was expected to remain in hospital for at least another week.
