Taizé Community

The Taizé Community is an ecumenical community of brothers from all over the world. About 100 brothers of different denominations and from different countries live in the community. Not all of them live directly in Taizé, some live in fraternities spread all over the world. Taizé is characterized by the fact that every year thousands of young people, young adults, families and adults from different countries come to sing, pray and share their faith together. Today, Taizé is known for its short, repetitive chants in different languages. They are now sung not only in Taizé but also in church services and prayers around the world.

The community was founded in 1940 by Brother Roger. In 1940, he set out by bicycle to look for a house for his community. On Aug. 20, 1940, he arrived in Taizé, where he was kindly greeted by an old lady. She invited him to settle down in Taizé. Impressed by this woman, Brother Roger bought the house in Taizé. He was quickly joined by 6 other brothers, study friends. At first, the brothers welcomed war refugees and Jews who were fleeing. In 1949, the brothers decided to commit themselves definitively to the life of celibacy. On Easter Sunday, April 17, 1949, Brother Roger and the first 6 brothers made their vows. These brothers were all Protestants, but in 1969 the first Catholic brother joined the community. From that time on, Taizé was ecumenical. Early on, Brother Roger became interested in the Catholic Church. He came into contact with many Catholic bishops and the later Pope John Paul II. Again and again, frère Roger sought exchange, also with the other religions. In the 1960s, the first invitation was extended to young people to come to Taizé to share biblical and spiritual themes. The brothers received support from the religious community of Saint-André. The visits became more and more, so that frère Roger decided to build a church of his own, as the village church became too small for the visitors. Then, in 1961, the Church of Reconciliation was built in collaboration with Aktion Sühnezeichen. Later, after 1970, the Church of Reconciliation also became too small, so at first the wall was knocked down and a circus tent was added to allow all the guests to participate in prayer. Prayer is the center of life in Taizé. Three times a day (morning, noon and evening), the brothers and the guests gather in the Church of Reconciliation to pray together. Later, an annex was added to the church. Since 1982 there has been the "Pilgrimage of Trust". Every year at the turn of the year there is a European ecumenical meeting in another big city. There are also ecumenical meetings on other continents. On August 16, 2005, Brother Roger was murdered by a mentally ill woman during evening prayer. His successor as prior since then is brother Alois. You can find more about the history here: https://www.taize.fr/de_rubrique2650.html. The Taize Community also has its own web shop where the main range is sold. Please click https://shop.taize.fr/

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