As the names on the ballot papers were read out inside the Sistine Chapel, and it became clear that Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio had reached the two-thirds threshold necessary to be elected Pope, his friend, Cardinal Cláudio Hummes, turned to him and whispered some advice: “Don’t forget about the poor.” That was the moment, Pope Francis recalled after the 2013 conclave, that he decided to choose to be named after St Francis of Assisi, the saint of poverty, peace and closeness to nature.

Six years on, and the Pope hasn’t forgotten his friend from Brazil. Last Saturday, Cardinal Hummes was named relator general for the October synod of bishops for the Pan-Amazon region, putting him centre stage. Hummes’ appointment indicates Francis’ seriousness in ensuring the synod produces serious results for the Church’s mission in “one of the lungs of the earth”. An 84-year-old Franciscan, Hummes is a man the Pope trusts, and someone who fully shares Francis’ vision for the Church and his concern for the environment.

“Dom Claudio” is a former Archbishop of São Paolo and prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Clergy, meaning he is both rooted in the Amazonian Church’s needs and an experienced navigator of the Roman system. Hummes is a passionate advocate for the rights of the region’s indigenous people.