The Cardinal who whispered to Pope Francis: Don't forget the poor

Ideas & Philosophy · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Cláudio Hummes was a Brazilian Franciscan who rose from a local seminary to the inner circles of the Vatican. A lifelong advocate for social justice and the environment, he famously nudged the newly elected Pope Francis to remember the marginalized, shaping the spiritual direction of the modern Catholic Church.

Born Auri Alfonso Hummes in 1934, the future cardinal spent his early years in Brazil before pursuing a doctorate in philosophy in Rome. Ordained in 1958, he became a key figure in the Order of Friars Minor. His career was defined by a commitment to social justice, which he actively championed while serving as Bishop of Santo André during Brazil's military dictatorship. By allowing labor unions to meet in his parishes, he forged a lasting bond with union leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, grounding his theology in the realities of the working class.

Hummes’s influence reached the global stage when he was created a cardinal in 2001. He served in numerous high-level Vatican roles, including prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy. During the 2013 conclave, his quiet words to the newly elected Pope Francis—'Don't forget the poor'—became a defining moment of the papacy. Francis later noted that this reminder prompted him to choose his papal name in honor of Francis of Assisi, the saint of poverty and peace.

In his later years, Hummes became a leading voice for environmental stewardship, particularly regarding the Amazon. As honorary president of the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network, he pushed for an 'Amazonian face' for the Church, advocating for native clergy and integral ecology. In 2015, he symbolically carried Pope Francis’s shoes to a climate demonstration in Paris, urging global leaders to commit to complete decarbonization by 2050. Hummes remained a complex figure, open to discussing disciplinary changes like priestly celibacy while maintaining a firm stance on core Catholic teachings, until his death in 2022 at age 87.

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