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.
