Supplied: Community of Sant'Egidio )

Andrea Riccardi, founder of Rome-based Catholic association Community of Sant'Egidio, which will run the shelter, said all people should be welcomed by the Vatican.

"The important thing is that here we are in front of the Vatican, within the heart of the Pope, the poor have a home in front of the Pope," he said.

"We are on Vatican territory, it belongs to the Vatican, and we of Sant'Egidio are delighted to cooperate with the Almoner of the Vatican."

According to an article on the Sant'Egidio website, the Pope's first words when touring the facility were: "beauty heals".

'A palace for the poor'

Pope Francis blessed the venue in November and dubbed it "A Palace for the Poor", just ahead of World Day of the Poor on November 17.

Thebuilding has been owned by the Vatican since the 1930s. ( Supplied: Community of Sant'Egidio )

Resident of the facility Mario Brezza told NBC News the place "feels more like home".

"I have my own bed, room and bathroom," he said.

"It's so different from the dormitories I have tried until now, where sometimes you feel like an animal in a crowded stable."

It is not the first time Pope Francis has implemented practical measures to help the poor and homeless in Vatican City.

Last year, Cardinal Krajewski — on the pontiff's orders — broke a police barrier and shimmied down a Rome manhole in order to restore electricity for hundreds of homeless people living in an unused building.

Pope Francis previously said he wished to be the head of "a poor church for