08 January 2026

2025 at a glance

By Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific

2025 dawned with profound challenges but also significant milestones for the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific (JCAP). A US foreign aid freeze disrupted vital JRS programmes and Fe y Alegría education efforts. Myanmar faced a devastating earthquake that deepened its ongoing crisis situation, while intensifying border conflicts between Thailand and Cambodia displaced thousands of communities. Amid these difficulties, Jesuits and partners rallied with relief and advocacy.

We were blessed with many opportunities for engagement. Rome launched the International Commission on the Jesuit Brother to deepen the vocation of Jesuit brothers, and, later in the year, a landmark training for facilitators in discernment in common in response to the call of synodality in the Church. The Loyola School of Theology celebrated its silver jubilee, while the East Asian Pastoral Institute marked its 60th year. Fr Cristóbal Fones’ apostolic visits strengthened the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, and the Social Justice and Ecology Secretariat’s COP30 climate campaign reaffirmed our commitment to justice, ecology, and accompaniment. In December, our Magis youth gathered in Taiwan to discern Pope Francis’ call in the Jubilee year to be Pilgrims of Hope.

The year also marked Pope Francis’ passing and the election of Pope Leo XIV, alongside leadership renewals in our conference, with the appointment of Fr Thomas Vũ Quang Trung as JCAP socius and Fr Hwang Jeong-yeon Javier as Korea’s next provincial.

	24 January The US government announces a 90-day suspension of all foreign aid, affecting Jesuit Refugee Service’s programmes for refugees and displaced persons and Fe y Alegría’s educational programmes for marginalised communities.
	25 January, Rome The General Curia hosts the inaugural meeting of the International Commission on the Jesuit Brother, a three-year process to deepen the Jesuit Brother vocation.
	25 to 30 January, Manila Most Rev Giovanni Cesare Pagazzi DD, Archbishop Secretary of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education (DCE), and his assistant, Fr Arogya Hruday Pudhota SCJ, visit the Loyola School of Theology on its silver jubilee as an Ecclesiastical Faculty.
	1 February Jesuit Refugee Service and the Migrants and Refugees Network in Asia Pacific release a joint statement on the fourth anniversary of the military coup in Myanmar, calling on the international community to support the people of Myanmar in their fight for democracy, human rights, and lasting peace.
	17 to 27 February Fr Cristóbal Fones SJ, the International Director of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (PWPN), makes an apostolic visit to Asia Pacific, visiting Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Timor-Leste to strengthen ties with local communities and promote PWPN’s mission and initiatives.
	26 to 28 February, Tokyo The International Association of Jesuit Universities (IAJU) International Education Conference takes place in Japan on the theme, “Global Horizons: Challenges and Opportunities for the Internationalisation of Jesuit Higher Education”.
	2 to 7 March, Chiang Rai Xavier Learning Community (XLC) hosts the “Learning from Southeast Asia” programme, welcoming students and staff from Japan’s Sophia University and Kwansei Gakuin University.
	28 March, Myanmar A 7.7-magnitude earthquake strikes Myanmar, killing at least 3,000, including a teacher from a Jesuit-run school in Yangon.
	21 April, Vatican Pope Francis passes away at the age of 88 at his residence in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta.
	8 May, Vatican Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost is elected the 267th Pope of the Catholic Church and Bishop of Rome, taking the name Leo XIV.
	20 May, Rome Fr General Arturo Sosa appoints Vietnamese Jesuit Fr Thomas Vũ Quang Trung as the new JCAP socius, succeeding Fr Greg Soetomo SJ.
	21 May, Rome The Social Justice and Ecology Secretariat launches the Jesuits for Climate Justice Faith in Action campaign ahead of COP30 in Brazil.
	24 July, Cambodia The territorial dispute between Thailand and Cambodia escalates into an armed conflict. Jesuit Service Cambodia (JSC), alongside Xavier Jesuit School, Jesuit Refugee Service, and Fe y Alegria (FyA), organises emergency relief operations in Banteay Meanchey Province for several hundred communities displaced by the border conflicts.
	15 August, Manila The East Asian Pastoral Institute celebrates its 60th anniversary.
	6 September, Philippines The Philippine Jesuits’ Commission on the Social Apostolate releases a statement condemning the widespread and systemic corruption ravaging the country and calling for urgent, comprehensive reforms.
	3rd week of October, Sydney A two-day Australian Jesuit Schools Ecology Conference is held, exploring the vital relationship between ecology and leadership.
	20 to 25 October, Rome A meeting of major superiors takes place in Rome to chart a way forward for the Society of Jesus to best serve the Church.
	23 November to 3 December, Salamanca “Ignite the Way: Training of Facilitators in Discernment in Common” convenes in Salamanca. This landmark gathering brings together nearly 100 Jesuits, lay collaborators, religious, and diocesan priests in response to the Church’s call for synodality.
	24 November, Beijing The Beijing Center for Chinese Studies (TBC) celebrates the opening of its newly relocated campus in Beijing’s embassy district.
	6 December, Lahore The Jesuit mission in Pakistan initiates an Advent prayer journey with young people.
	19 December Fr Hwang Jeong-yeon Javier SJ is appointed the next Provincial of Korea.
	26 December A week-long Magis Asia Pacific gathering commences in Taiwan, welcoming nearly a hundred young people and counsellors from more than 10 countries across Asia Pacific—and even Poland.