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Pope Francis has taken the axiom of cleanliness being next to Godliness to a literal extreme, ordering showers to be built for the homeless in the heart of St Peter's Square, The Telegraph reported. 

The Pope wants three showers to be installed in an existing public lavatory block used by tourists, located just behind the Renaissance colonnade of stone pillars that sweeps up to the entrance to St Peter's Basilica.

The facilities are built into the base of a centuries-old wall and squeezed between a Vatican post office and the main entrance to the Apostolic Palace, a key part of the Vatican, which is protected by Swiss Guards in their traditional knickerbocker-style uniforms.

The initiative, which will be paid for from Vatican charitable funds, was inspired by the experience of the Pope's chief almsgiver, a Polish archbishop called Konrad Krajewski.

Known officially as the Vatican almoner, a job that dates back to the 13th century and which involves handing out money to the poor, he recently met a 50-year-old homeless man from Sardinia on the streets of Rome and offered to buy him dinner.

But the man, identified only as Franco, regretfully declined, explaining apologetically: "I can't, because I stink."

"I took him to dinner anyway," Archbishop Krajewski told La Stampa newspaper. "We went to a Chinese restaurant. While we were eating, he explained that for the homeless in Rome it was not difficult to find something to eat, but what they really lacked was a place to wash."

While showers were provided by Catholic charities such as Caritas and Sant'Egidio in the capital, they were often overcrowded, Franco, who has been living on the streets for 10 years, told the archbishop.