Pope Francis has approved a new three-year reform process for the Catholic Church, sending a strong signal he plans to continue in the post despite spending more than a month in hospital battling pneumonia.

Pope Francis approved a new three-year process to consider reforms for the global Catholic Church, the Vatican said on Saturday, in a sign the 88-year-old pontiff plans to continue on as pope despite his ongoing battle with double pneumonia.

Pope Francis is on his 29th straight day in the hospital, a day after he marked the 12th anniversary of when he was elected pope.