Showers for homeless in St Peter’s Square

Pope Francis has given the green light for showers for homeless people to be installed under the colonnades of St Peter’s Square, writes Hannah Roberts.

Francis gave the go-ahead after his official alms giver reported that a homeless man living in Rome turned down an invitation to have dinner with him in a restaurant because he was embarrassed about his body odour.

The Pope’s almoner Archbishop Konrad Krajewski invited Franco, originally from Sardinia, to dinner in October after meeting him on the street and learning that it was his fiftieth birthday.

“He told me that he was turning 50 that day and that he had been living on the street for 10 years,” he told the daily La Stampa.

“I took him [to dinner] with me anyway. During dinner, he explained to me that you can always find some food in Rome. What is missing is a place to wash.”