The Xavier Network (XN) is an international network of Jesuit Mission Offices and organisations working in development, humanitarian aid and social justice. Bringing together Jesuit organisations from across Europe and North America, it promotes collaboration, coordination and solidarity in support of Jesuit missions and communities around the world. As a work of the Jesuit Conference of European Provincials (JCEP), it plays an important role in strengthening the Society of Jesus’ international response to global emergencies.

On 14-16 October, Xavier Network members gathered in Nuremberg, Germany, for their bi-annual meeting, hosted by the Jesuitenweltweit team at the Ukama Centre for Social & Ecological Transformation. The meeting provided an opportunity to reflect on the network’s shared mission, review its impact and discuss ongoing responses to humanitarian crises, including the emergency in Venezuela.

Our bi-annual meeting was hosted this October by the Jesuitenweltweit DE (Germany) team in the Ukama Centre for Social & Ecological Transformation in Nuremberg. Thirteen Jesuit Mission Offices and NGOs were represented from Austria, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, United States along with the European Secretariat for Social Justice and Ecology, Filipe Martins SJ.

The meeting was an opportunity to thank Jenny Cafiso, Director of Canadian Jesuits International (CJI), for 31 years of service to the Society of Jesus. In a celebratory This Is Your Life–style interview, John K. Guiney, S.J., Director of Irish Jesuits International, walked through key moments in Jenny’s service: eight years with Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) International (1995–2003), 23 years as Director of CJI, and three years as Chair of the Xavier Network (XN). Jenny was presented with a book of photographs from the projects and teams she accompanied over three decades of support and commitment.

The meeting continued with a reflection on our investment in the Global South with XN members raising €74 million in 2025, serving 525,300 participants. 40% of our international aid in 2025 was facilitated on the ground by our strategic partners, JRS and Fe y Alegria.  33% of our international aid was allocated to Latin America, with 25% being allocated to Africa.

Salvo Maraventano, JRS International Lead Programmes & Planning, reflected upon the JRS response to accompany, serve and advocate for refugees and displaced people in the Global South, presenting the Country Planning process for 26 countries to be co-funded by the XN.

Alfredo Infante Silvera SJ, Jesuit Venezuela Provincial led a discussion on his Province’s response to the Venezuela Earthquake, which the country was very much unprepared for. “Venezuelans are experiencing a deep grief. This grief is very Christian, but also a paradox. The pain of innocent people, and the suffering moments of the crisis, give an opportunity to grow, to change. In the middle of the catastrophe and pain, we are able to see a lot of good things. Me – I feel partly broken but also full of hope.”

The XN has continued its Venezuela emergency response since the earthquake struck in August. “At this time, people are still sitting outside collapsed buildings, waiting for services to come help them lift the fallen concrete so they can retrieve their loved ones still trapped under the rubble and give them a proper burial,” said Asunción Taboada, Xavier Network Emergencies Coordinator.