In 1934, he and other Jesuit brothers were exiled by the Spanish Republic, so he left Spain for Belgium and studied Greek, Latin and Castilian literature at the Catholic University of Louvain.
Because it was difficult for religious figures to obtain visas at the time, Vélaz entered Venezuela disguised as a cloth and wine merchant.
[4][5][6][7] Vélaz began his priesthood with a focus on supporting the impoverished and marginalized people of Venezuela through education, which he believed would facilitate personal development and social engagement for the groups.
However, the plan was not approved by the Society of Jesus, which ordered Vélaz to serve as director of spirituality and professor of humanities at Andrés Bello Catholic University in Caracas in 1954.
[4][5][6][7][8] With the support of volunteers from the university, Vélaz founded Fe y Alegría in 1955 in Caracas, Venezuela, to provide free public education to children from impoverished and marginalized groups living in the area.
Before his death, Vélaz was working on several projects, including the expansion of Fe y Alegría into Africa and the start of a school network for the native people of Gran Sabana.
He was also supporting the development of a chain of agricultural schools based in San Ignacio del Masparro, Venezuela, where he died of a heart attack on July 18, 1985.
By 2007, the organization served approximately 1 million primary and secondary students from impoverished and marginalized groups in Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe and Africa.