The Vatican on Monday announced the start of nighttime prayers for the health of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square, and invited Romans and others to join in, as the 88-year-old pontiff battled a complex lung infection and complications.

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 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.