Pope Francis is going without supplemental oxygen for longer periods and is continuing therapy to recover his voice and to recover his physical strength, the Vatican press office said, but he also is increasing the number of private meetings he is holding with the heads of Vatican offices.

Catholic faithful do not “buy” Masses, but when a priest accepts an offering and promises to celebrate a Mass for that person’s loved one or other special intention he must do so, the Vatican said.

Pope Francis advanced the sainthood causes of one woman and five men, including Antoni Gaudí, the Spanish architect who designed the Sagrada Familia Basilica in Barcelona, Spain.

Writing in “Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common Home,” Pope Francis said the Earth “cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her.”

Carrying the cross means more than bearing personal suffering — it means stepping into the pain of others and walking beside them, Pope Francis wrote at the start of Holy Week.

Two popes who played instrumental roles in building the world’s largest church now gaze at one another with renewed clarity in the apse of St. Peter’s Basilica.

The temptation to cling to the past — to hold on to what was, including something sacred — can keep believers from truly embracing the hope offered by the risen Christ, said the preacher of the papal household.

Pope Francis’ surprise visit to St. Peter’s Basilica to pray and see ongoing restoration work is a clear sign that his condition is improving, the Vatican press office said.

Pope Francis prayed for the victims of a nightclub disaster in the Dominican Republic that claimed more than 200 lives and has provoked mourning across the Caribbean country.

Although they postponed their official state visit to the Vatican because of Pope Francis’ health, Britain’s King Charles and Queen Camilla met privately with the pope April 9, the Vatican press office said.