The Church’s mission risks being reduced to ashes unless bishops become open to the “daring prudence” of the spirit and make changes to the status quo, Pope Francis said.

Opening the Synod of Bishops assembly on the Pan-Amazon region, he warned against a mentality where “everything continues as it was” and those groups who want to “make everyone and everything uniform”.

The Pope was speaking during a Mass in St Peter’s at the start of the 6-27 October gathering which was attended by the 185 synod fathers, the majority of them bishops serving in the Amazon. Some 260 participants will take part in the gathering including outside experts and representatives from indigenous groups. During the Mass the indigenous sat in the front row of the basilica, and brought up the offertory gifts to the Pope.

In his homily, the Pope told the congregation that Christian perseverance requires being able to rekindle the gift of faith, a gift which he said was “a fire, a burning love for God and for our brothers and sisters”. If the fire is not fed, he added, it “turns into ashes” and dies.

“If everything continues as it was, if we spend our days content that ‘this is the way things have always been done,’ then the gift vanishes, smothered by the ashes of fear and concern for defending the status quo,” he told cardinals of the Roman Curia and  bishops from across nine countries in Latin America. “Jesus did not come to bring a gentle evening breeze, but to light a fire on the earth.”

The Jesuit Pope argued that the virtue of prudence is not “timidity or fear” but requires a daring attitude and the willingness to take decisions.

“Prudence is not indecision, it is not a defensive attitude,” he said. “It is the virtue of the pastor who, in order to serve with wisdom, is able to discern, to be receptive to the newness of the Spirit. Rekindling our gift in the fire of the Spirit is the opposite of letting things take their course without doing anything.”

French billionaire Francois Pinault and son Francois-Henri Pinault have officially signed documents setting aside $109 million toward rebuilding Notre Dame Cathedral, following months of delay that left officials largely reliant on small charity donations to fund the first phase of repairs.

Surrounded by portraits of former cardinals, the Pinaults signed the donation agreement at the Archdiocese of Paris on Tuesday. The money will give the Notre Dame Foundation a much-awaited financial boost as authorities draw up plans for the cathedral’s reconstruction, following the devastating fire on April 15. Paris Archbishop Michel Aupetit says “everyone gives what he can according to his needs, but the big donors give us breathing room.”

Francois Pinault, whose international luxury group Kering owns Gucci and Saint Laurent, pledged the money directly after the fire.

Pope Francis is urging bishops taking part in the Amazon synod not to chase the Holy Spirit away from their discussions, as he launched the first full working day of a summit designed to bolster the Church’s evangelising presence in the region.

Speaking to the 268 participants in the Paul VI Hall this morning, the Pope warned against a “homogenising centralism” in the Church, driven by ideology and which fails to respect local cultures.

Francis told the 185 synod fathers he was “saddened” to hear a “sarcastic” remark about an indigenous man who had brought up the offertory gifts at the Mass in St Peter’s Basilica yesterday wearing a feathered headdress.

“What difference is having feathers on your head and the three cornered hat worn by some officials of our dicasteries?” the pope said to applause, referring to a priest’s biretta.

Before getting to work, the synod participants gathered in St Peter’s Basilica gathered in a circle around to sing prayers in Spanish and native languages.

The Pope then joined them, the choir sang the Veni Creator Spiritus–Come Holy Spirit–and Francis, bishops and barefooted indigenous representatives processed from the basilica to the synod hall. The crowd carried an indigenous image of Mary in a canoe, a multi-coloured fishing net and held up placards with images of missionaries killed in the Amazon and St Oscar Romero.