The gleaming colonnade of St. Peter's Square provides a majestic backdrop as four men wait for a free dinner on a terrace in the heart of the Vatican, on a balmy April evening.

The prestigious location is the envy of Rome's finest hotels. But the 19th-century Palazzo Migliori is a homeless shelter, housed in a building the late Pope Francis dedicated to their care.

Francis, who died on April 21, shunned much of the pomp and privilege of the papacy and sought to make the Roman Catholic Church more inclusive and less judgmental.

Known as the "slum bishop" in his native Buenos Aires because of his frequent visits to shanty towns, Francis made concern for the poor a major focus.

After he became pope in 2013, more tents and sleeping bags appeared in the evenings in the long shadows of St. Peter's Square, as word of Francis' welcome to the homeless spread.

Under his direction, the Vatican built new facilities like showers and a laundry to help them. Six years ago, it gave the palazzo, once used by nuns, to the Sant'Egidio lay community, which supports those on society's margins.

"We will all miss him. He was a Pope who was doing many things, many lunches for the poor," said Antonino Siracusa, a former homeless man now working at the Sant'Egidio shelter. The shelter currently houses 38 men and seven women.

Siracusa was among a group of homeless, migrants, prisoners and transgender people waiting on the steps of the Basilica of St. Mary Major, Francis' chosen resting place far from the splendour of the Vatican, to greet the pope's coffin after the funeral on April 26.

"I was inside the gate with a flower in my hand," said Siracusa as he recalled the moment that made his heart bump, the white rose nestled in his fingers.

During his 12-year papacy, Francis invited huge groups of poor and homeless to eat with him - sometimes as many as 1,200 at a time.

Savile Piro, who is homeless and sleeps on the streets near the Vatican, was there when the pope surprised residents of the shelter with a visit in 2015.

"It was an experience you can't explain in words,” Piro said, recalling the sensation of “a blow to the heart” that left everyone “open-mouthed.”

With Francis' death, cardinals will gather in conclave from May 7 to pick a new leader for the 1.4-billion-member Church.

"Many say that there will be a black pope. Many say 'let's hope he's Italian'. I say: let's hope he's a good pope. That's enough," said Piro.

(Production: Leonardo Benassatto, Lavinia Sdoga, Matteo Negri)