Father Gabriel Romanelli was able to speak with Pope Francis on Tuesday despite the fact that the pontiff remains hospitalized in critical condition with bilateral pneumonia.

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis, hospitalized in critical condition with double pneumonia, was well enough to meet with the Vatican secretary of state to approve new decrees for saints and call a formal meeting to set the dates for their canonization, the Vatican said Tuesday.

Despite his ongoing hospitalization for treatment of what the Vatican has said is a polymicrobial respiratory infection, Pope Francis has continued calling the Catholic parish in Gaza nightly, its pastor has said.

Even while Pope Francis is hospitalized, he still keeps in touch with a Roman Catholic parish in Gaza City, making near-nightly phone calls to the priest and congregation there.

Pope Francis continues to call Gaza’s Holy Family parish every night, despite battling pneumonia, to offer prayers and support. He has been vocal about the crisis in Gaza. With no clear progress in ceasefire talks,

Pope Francis, who has been hospitalized since last week, was found to have pneumonia in both lungs following a CT scan on Tuesday, the Vatican said, with tests continuing to indicate “a complex picture” for one of the oldest popes in the church’s history.

In a critical condition, Pope Francis does not forget his people in the region that is now devastated due to Israeli attacks.