Pope Francis challenged French President Emmanuel Macron and other European leaders to open their ports to people fleeing hardship and poverty, insisting Saturday that the continent isn’t facing a migration “emergency” but rather a long-term reality that governments must deal with humanely.

For a second straight day in the French port city of Marseille, Francis took aim at European countries that have used “alarmist propaganda” to justify closing their doors to migrants and tried to shame them into responding with charity instead.

Praising improved relations, the Holy See and the government of Vietnam have announced an agreement allowing the Vatican to have a permanent resident papal representative in the communist country.

The announcement came Thursday during the visit of Vietnam’s President Vo Van Thuong to the Vatican. He held talks with both Pope Francis and Holy See Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

Pope Francis on Sunday announced that he would elevate 21 churchmen to the high rank of cardinal, again putting his mark on the group that will one day choose his successor after his death or resignation.

The ceremony to install them, known as a consistory, will be held on Sept. 30, the 86-year-old Francis announced during his noon prayer to pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter's Square.

It will be the ninth consistory called by the pope since his election 10 years ago as the first pontiff from Latin America.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Rome for a day of meetings with Italian leaders and with Pope Francis, who has offered to serve as an intermediary in negotiations with Moscow but whose refusal to explicitly condemn Russia’s invasion has raised skepticism in Ukraine.

The meeting at the Vatican, planned for Saturday afternoon, comes almost two weeks after the pope said the Vatican was involved in a secret mission for peace. Russia and Ukraine both said they had no knowledge of the effort.

Pope Francis is in Hungary for a three-day pastoral visit - his first full trip to the country since he became Pope 10 years ago.

What kept him away was the tough anti-migrant stance of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, in contrast to the 86-year-old pontiff's compassion for all refugees.

What brings him here now, besides his support for Catholics, is the war in Ukraine.

Hungary and Ukraine share a 134km (85-mile) border.

Unlike other EU leaders, Mr Orban has refused to back military aid for Kyiv and maintained relations with Russia's Vladimir Putin.

Pope Francis joked that he is “still alive” as he left the hospital in Rome where he spent the past few days being treated for a respiratory infection.

He stopped to talk to well wishers and journalists after being discharged from Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Saturday morning.

The Pontiff was in good spirits when he replied to CNN’s Delia Gallagher’s questions about how he was feeling, telling her “[I’m] still alive, you know!”

Pope Francis has joked that he is "still alive" as he left hospital in Rome after a three-day stay.

He was admitted to Gemelli Hospital mid-week with breathing difficulties, and later diagnosed with bronchitis.

The Vatican had said he was responding to antibiotics and would be released on Saturday, depending on test results.

"I wasn't frightened, I'm still alive," the 86-year-old pontiff told reporters and tearful well wishers outside the hospital before being driven away.

Pope Francis has been released from the hospital on Saturday morning after receiving treatment for bronchitis.

Before leaving the Agostino Gemelli University Policlinic hospital, the pope, who is 86 years old, met with the leadership of the hospital, according to the Holy See Press Office. He then stopped briefly to greet several people and prayed with a couple who had lost their daughter overnight, according to Vatican News.

Pope Benedict XVI, a fierce defender of church dogma who became the first pontiff in six centuries to abdicate the papacy, died Saturday morning. He was 95 years old.

Benedict XVI died at 9:34 AM local time in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in Vatican City, where he resided following his resignation, according to Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni.

Benedict XVI’s body will lie in state at Saint Peter’s Basilica beginning on Jan. 2.

The funeral service for Pope Emeritus is scheduled to take place in St. Peter’s Square on Jan. 5.

Former Pope Benedict XVI has died, aged 95, almost a decade after he stood down because of ailing health.

He led the Catholic Church for fewer than eight years until, in 2013, he became the first Pope to resign since Gregory XII in 1415.

Benedict spent his final years at the Mater Ecclesiae monastery within the walls of the Vatican where he passed away at 09:34 (08:34 GMT) on Saturday.

His successor Pope Francis will lead the funeral on 5 January.