The Vatican says Pope Francis, who is 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' condition remains critical but stable and he was able to do some work while still in the hospital with double pneumonia, the Vatican said in a Tuesday evening update.

After spending eleven days in the hospital, Pope Francis remains in critical, but stable condition as he fights a complex respiratory infection and bilateral pneumonia, with doctors still not offering an overall prognosis.