Pope ran brief fever but tests negative: Vatican

Pope Francis temporarily ran a fever while in hospital after his operation, but a chest and abdomen scan and other tests revealed no particular abnormalities, the Vatican said Thursday.

The 84-year-old pontiff has been in Rome's Gemelli hospital since Sunday, when he underwent planned surgery for an inflammation of the colon.

"His Holiness Pope Francis spent a quiet day (on Wednesday) eating and moving unassisted," Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in his daily update.

In the afternoon, the pope sent his "affectionate greetings" to young patients in the nearby paediatric oncology and children's neurosurgery wards.

"In the evening he temporarily ran a temperature. This morning he underwent routine and microbiological examinations, and a chest and abdomen scan, which proved negative," Bruni said.

"The Holy Father is continuing with his planned treatment and (is) eating by mouth."

Bruni said on Monday that the pope was expected to stay in hospital for around seven days as long as there were no complications.

He later said tests had confirmed the pope was suffering from "a severe diverticular stenosis with signs of sclerosing diverticulitis".

Diverticula are small bulges or pockets that develop in the lining of the intestine. Diverticulitis occurs when they become inflamed or infected.

Sclerosis is normally defined as a hardening of tissue.

Francis is in the same suite on the 10th floor of the Gemelli hospital used by Pope John Paul II.

The late pope underwent surgery there a number of times, including after an attempt on his life in 1981, and for a tumour in the colon in 1992.