Known in Brazil as the “worker bishop” for his work in defense of workers, the member of the Franciscan Order received the highest distinction from the Universidad Nacional de Rosario.

In a virtual ceremony, UNR Rector Franco Bartolacci presented the title of Doctor Honoris Causa to Claudio Hummes, Brazilian archbishop and cardinal of the Catholic Church, currently prefect emeritus of the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy in the Roman Curia. He was Archbishop of Fortaleza and São Paulo and is the current president of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon.

The event, which was broadcast on the official UNR YouTube channel, was attended by the director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, Darío Maiorana, the founder of the Institute for Global Dialogue and the Culture of the Meeting and Rector of the University Institute of Water and Sanitation, Luis Liberman, the general director of the Gabriela Sacco Institute, the archbishop of Huancayo and president of the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network, Cardinal Pedro Barretto, and the Archbishop of the city of Rosario, Monsignor Eduardo Martin.

During the meeting, a handwritten letter that Pope Francis sent to the Cardinal was read: “I am happy with this decision because it is about giving thanks to God and to life for giving us these companions on the way, these leaders who have the courage to open trails, new paths, to provoke dreams, the courage to always continue ordering the horizon over the problems and difficulties of the road. He is Don Claudio, a man of hope and a sower of hope because he is convinced that hope does not disappoint. I must also love him with the example that he has given throughout his life in a special way with these two simple phrases: this is how the holy spirit acts and do not forget the poor."

Rector Franco Bartolacci welcomed Cardinal Hummes on behalf of