On his sixth full day in Rome's Gemelli hospital, "the Holy Father's clinical condition is improving slightly," the Vatican said.

While Pope Francis battles pneumonia in hospital, work at the Vatican, headquarters of the 1.4 billion-member Catholic Church, continues apace. Although certain doctrinal matters require the pope's direct attention,

Vatican officials said that Pope Francis had developed pneumonia in both lungs, further complicating the pontiff's recovery.