Fr Tony Moreno SJ, President of the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific, called the recent assembly of major superiors a “historic” one. Aside from all the major superiors who were present in person—two of them attending their first assembly: Fr Francis Lim Chin Choy SJ from the Malaysia-Singapore Region, and Fr Joseph Pham Tuan Nghia SJ from the Vietnamese Province–there were several special guests also present in Chiang Mai.

Three other Conference Presidents, namely Fr Brian Paulson SJ from the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States, Fr Agbonkhianmeghe Orobator SJ from the Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar, and Fr Franck Janin SJ from the Jesuit Conference of European Provincials were there to encourage inter-conference collaboration and greater awareness of the universal mission of the Society.

Fr John Guiney SJ, coordinator of the vital project, Promoting a Consistent Culture of Protection (PCCP), and Dr Sandra Racionero-Plaza, assistant coordinator and leading researcher on safeguarding, presented key results from the audit on safeguarding in Asia Pacific, highlighting the necessary measures and existing gaps in safeguarding for all the units of the conference. Finally, from the communication office of the General Curia in Rome, Fr Pierre Belanger SJ was also in attendance, not only to cover the assembly but also the good works of the Jesuits in Thailand.

Spanish Jesuit Fr Miguel Garaizábal, longtime missionary to Thailand and current superior of the Thai Region, presented the history of the Jesuits there. Despite the small number of Jesuits working in a predominantly Buddhist country, they have established strong ministries in retreat giving and spiritual accompaniment, working with the youth, education, pastoral work, social services, prison ministry, migrants and refugees, and formation. The Jesuits are headquartered at Xavier Hall in Bangkok, where a beautiful public chapel is maintained, as well as the offices for Jesuit Refugee Service Asia Pacific, Jesuit Social Services, and the Jesuit Foundation Immigration Detention Center Ministry.

In Chiang Mai, the Seven Fountains Spirituality Center has become an enduring place of prayer and spiritual retreats since the 1990s, while in the Mae Tang district, Emmaus Farm has been helping former prisoners get back on their feet, also participating in community building and outreach activities. Further north in Chiang Rai, Xavier Learning Community was established in 2017, where disadvantaged and indigenous students receive a liberal arts education.

Fr Girish Santiago SJ, superior of the Myanmar Region, gave updates on the situation in the country. “The Golden Land has become a burning land, a wounded land, a crippled land,” is how Fr Santiago eloquently put it, pointing out millions of people displaced, food production reduced, and prices on the rise. The Jesuits in Myanmar are doing what they can to accompany the people by supporting the local church, networking, and collaborating with religious groups, civilian groups, and NGOs. A Myanmar Desk was set up via the Philippine Province to help with aid and advocacy as fund raising and awareness raising must continue.

As the assembly progressed, several crucial topics were discussed. Fr Benny Juliawan SJ, Provincial of the Indonesian Province, shared a concise and insightful summary of his trip to Pakistan along with Fr President Moreno and Fr Kuntoro Adi SJ, as part of a discernment process of the Indonesian Province and the conference to take on the Pakistan Jesuit Mission. He conveyed the urgency and relevance of the mission in a country of 5 million Christians, mainly poor and marginalised compared to the Islamic majority.

Amid all these focal points, the major superiors also devoted some time in discernment for the new JCAP President to succeed Fr Moreno, who has very ably steered the conference over the last six years. The next step is for the canonical consult to prepare the terna for Fr General’s appointment of the new JCAP President.