Pope Francis has met senior colleagues in hospital to discuss work issues, the Vatican said on Tuesday, and an official said he was eating normally and moving around, even though he remains in critical condition with double pneumonia.

Pope Francis is showing a "good response" to his treatment in hospital for double pneumonia and his overall condition is gradually improving, the Vatican said on Saturday. Francis, 88, has been in Rome's Gemelli hospital for more than three weeks with a severe respiratory infection that has required continuously evolving treatment.