Fe y Alegría, (English: ''Faith and Joy''), is an International Movement for the

Popular Education Popular education is a concept grounded in notions of class, political struggle, critical theory and social transformation. The term is a translation from the Spanish or the Portuguese . The term 'popular' in this case means 'of the people'. ...

and

Integral Education Integral theory as developed by Ken Wilber is a synthetic metatheory aiming to unify a broad spectrum of Western theories and models and Eastern meditative traditions within a singular conceptual framework. The original basis, which dates to t ...

, and

Social Promotion Social promotion is an educational practice in which a student is promoted to the next grade at the end of the school year, regardless of whether they have mastered the necessary material or attended school consistently. This practice typically a ...

. Established in 1955, the federation offers educational programs to the poorest sectors of society, along with teacher training and educational radio. From its main office in Bogota,

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, Fe y Alegría advances the tradition of

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

education under an international board of directors.

History

Fe y Alegría was founded in

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

in 1955 by José María Vélaz. He was born in Chile, where he spent his first ten years. That time deeply shaped his life with profound sensitivity of a Latin American. From an early age, he was educated in schools run by the Society of Jesus, where he continued his studies until becoming a Jesuit member. In 1946, he was sent to Venezuela, a country by then marked by inequality and illiteracy. Father Vélaz dreamed of establishing a network of schools in the most forgotten areas of the country. His motivation led him to seek allies among university students and, in 1960, he began working with communities. Volunteers would go with Faith (Fe) and return with Joy (Alegria), giving this educational initiative its name: Fe y Alegría. The first Fe y Alegria school was opened in a working-class neighbourhood in western Caracas. This came about when José María Vélaz was looking for a place to launch this new initiative, in March 1955, and a couple, Abraham Reyes and Patricia García, offered their ranch as the first school. By 1976, Fe y Alegría expanded its network to

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

, and

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

. The organization played a significant role during the government of

Juan Velasco Alvarado Juan Francisco Velasco Alvarado (June 16, 1910 – December 24, 1977) was a Peruvian Army general, general who served as the President of Peru after a successful 1968 Peruvian coup d'état, coup d'état against Fernando Belaúnde's presidency ...

during the 1960s. Father Luis Berger, the vicar of a parish, accompanied local leaders to meetings with the military government, and played a key role in mediation for social control. In 1985 an office was established in Spain as a platform to support Latin American countries and promote the movement in Europe. In 1999 its mission was redefined to take on development cooperation tasks, leading to the creation of the Entreculturas-Fe y Alegria Foundation. In March 2025 Fe y Alegria celebrated its 70th anniversary with thanksgiving masses in various locations, announcing that "the celebration not only commemorates the past, but also looks to the future, reaffirming the movement's commitment to education and communication as essential tools for social change".

Expansion into Europe

In 1962, their first branch in Europe was setup, in

Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, and it was then registered as an

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

in 1985. In 2001 a branch was inaugurated in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, later expanding to

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

and

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

Global Plan of Federative Priorities 2021-2025

Fe y Alegría published its global plan of federative priorities for the period 2021-2025 following the International Federation of Fe y Alegría - Bogotá in December 2020.

Locations

As of 2025, Fe y Alegría operates within 22 countries and 3 continents.

History

Expansion into Europe

Global Plan of Federative Priorities 2021-2025

Locations

References

Further reading