Pope Francis opened a synod on Sunday to champion the Amazon's poverty-stricken and isolated indigenous communities by condemning the destructive "interests" he blamed for the fires that devastated the region. The three-week synod, or assembly, is to unite 184 bishops, including 113 from the nine countries of the pan-Amazon region, including Brazil. Brazil is home to 60 percent of the world's largest rainforest, which is vital for the planet but is suffering from its worst outbreak of fires in years.

The fires, mostly caused by humans with the goal of clearing land for farming and cattle ranching, are having a grievous effect on the forest. Representatives of indigenious peoples, some with their heads adorned with coloured feathers, also gathered in Saint Peter's Square to hear the pope's inaugural mass.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019