Pope Francis, hospitalized in critical condition with double pneumonia, was well enough to meet with the Vatican secretary of state and his deputy to approve new decrees for saints and call a formal meeting to set the dates for their canonization,

Pope Francis, head of the Roman Catholic Church, has held his title for 12 years. What to know about the Jesuit.

The kidney ailment appears to be in an early stage, the Vatican said, adding that the pontiff is still receiving high flows of oxygen for his respiratory illness.