In 2013, Cardinal Claudio Hummes persuaded Jorge Mario Bergoglio to call himself Francis from now on as Pope after Francis of Assisi. Francis calls the Brazilian a "great friend" who helped him in difficult situations. Now Hummes has died of old age.
Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes, who inspired Pope Francis to choose his name, died in São Paulo on Monday at the age of 87. As the Archbishop of São Paulo, Odilo Scherer announced, Hummes died as a result of a long and serious illness. The wake is scheduled to take place in São Paulo Cathedral.
In March 2013, shortly after his election, Pope Francis revealed in a conversation with journalists how he came to name himself after Saint Francis of Assisi. During the papal election, he sat next to Hummes, a "great friend", Francis reported. When the situation became "risky", Hummes helped him. When he finally got two-thirds of the votes, Hummes hugged him and said: "Don't forget the poor!" Francis said that he immediately thought of Francis of Assisi. Pope Francis' real name is Jorge Mario Bergoglio.
Cardinal Hummes was born in a small town in southern Brazil and was ordained a priest in 1958. He became a bishop in 1975 and a cardinal in 2001. In the Vatican he was under Pope Benedict XVI. Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, in 2019 he played an important role in the Amazon Synod.
In the afternoon, Francis himself had dismissed rumors of an impending resignation in August. "It never occurred to me," said the Catholic Church leader in an interview with the Reuters news agency. The speculation had arisen because Francis had called the cardinals from all parts of the world - who elect the pope in the conclave - to Rome for the end of August and is also planning a visit to L'Aquila, Italy, where Pope Celestine V is buried . He was the first pope in history to resign from office during his lifetime.
However, it is no secret that Pope Francis could one day resign. The condition for this would be for him that he could no longer exercise his office due to his health. "We don't know," he replied when asked when he thought that would happen. "God will say that."
