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, who is in critical condition with double pneumonia, is alert and has met Vatican officials in hospital to discuss work issues, the Vatican said on Tuesday.

Pope Francis was found to have pneumonia in both his lungs Tuesday and his condition remains "complex," the Vatican said in a health update on the 88-year-old pontiff who was hospitalized last week. The big picture: The pope was admitted to Rome's Agostino Gemelli Hospital on Friday with bronchitis symptoms and his treatment was changed after doctors found he had a polymicrobial infection of the respiratory tract.