The pontiff welcomed Virginia Raggi of the 5 Star Movement political party to the Holy See on Friday.
The anti-establishment 5 Star Movement party was originally founded by Italian comedian Beppe Grillo in 2009, as both a humourous and serious response to what he believed to be corruption and incompetency among established Italian politicians.
The Movement has grown significantly since then and Virginia Raggi was elected Mayor of Rome earlier this month, beating favourite Democratic Party candidate Roberto Giachetti.
Virginia Raggi, a 37-year-old mother of one and a lawyer, won with 67% of the vote and now faces a significant financial black hole in Rome's coffers.
She pledged to tackle traffic congestion, issues with waste management, a lack of affordable housing and corruption, including racketing by the Mafia.
Una grande emozione. Colpita dalla sua profonda umanità . Grazie. pic.twitter.com/Y07fuhHjSw
— Virginia Raggi (@virginiaraggi) July 1, 2016
Mrs Raggi said her meeting with Pope Francis was "very good" and was struck by how down-to-earth he was.
She told him she would seek to end tax-exemption status for church buildings involved in money-making activities.
The Mayor of Rome also praised Pope Francis for his attempts to stop corruption in the Vatican's own finances.
