On Monday, the Pope decided to convene a consistory to discuss the next canonisations, the Vatican announced on Tuesday.
A date for this meeting of cardinals chaired by the Pope was not published. The head of the Church has been undergoing treatment for complex infections at the Gemelli Clinic in Rome for twelve days and his condition is "critical" according to doctors.
A consistory is used for joint consultation on special matters or to carry out certain particularly solemn acts, such as canonisations.
The cardinals based in Rome mainly come together for this purpose. If special requirements for the Catholic Church need to be discussed, the Pope can also summon all cardinals worldwide to Rome, currently 252 men. These large consultations are extraordinary consistories.
This matter also publicised a visit to the Pope that observers had been awaiting for days. The Vatican announced that this topic was discussed at a meeting with two particularly close members of staff from the Secretariat of State, which is comparable to the Chancellery.
According to the statement, the sick Pope discussed the matter on Monday with the number two in the Vatican, Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, as well as the commonly referred to "number three" substitute, Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra. He heads the General Department of the Secretariat of State responsible for worldwide "ecclesiastical domestic policy".