The move by Pope Francis’s almoner follows plan unveiled last year to install toilets and showers for the homeless near St Peter’s Square

Homeless people in Rome will soon be able to head to the Vatican for a free shave and haircut.

The move, arranged by Pope Francis’s almoner, follows a plan unveiled last year to install toilets and showers for the homeless in a renovated area in the vicinity of St Peter’s Square.

The new service will be offered every Monday starting on 16 February and will be provided by volunteer barbers who usually have the day off on Mondays. The charity will rely heavily on donations, including for razors, scissors, mirrors and chairs, some of which have already been given to the Holy See.

Archbishop Konrad Krajewski introduced the plan to build showers alongside public loos last year. The papal almoner was inspired by a conversation he had with a homeless man named Franco, according to a report on the Vatican Insider website.

When Franco initially declined an invitation to have dinner with the bishop, he said it was because he smelled. Later, over a meal at a Chinese restaurant, he explained the needs of the homeless.

“Here no one starves to death,” he told Krajewski. “You can find a sandwich every day. But there is no place to use the toilet and wash.”

Last November, the work began to build three showers alongside the public restrooms under St Peter’s colonnades. He also selected ten Roman parishes the homeless were known to frequent and built showers there.

Pope Francis has put poverty at the centre of his agenda since his election in 2013. But not everyone shares his attention to the plight of homelessness.

The Philippines government was recently criticised after it emerged it had tried to hide hundreds of homeless people in Manila during the pope’s trip there this month. The social welfare secretary, Corazon Soliman, admitted that 490 beggars and homeless people had been taken off the street and put in luxury accommodation during the visit.