USA: Meeting in ChicagoPress release, Taizé, 16 January 2012
The ecumenical community of Taizé, founded by Brother Roger in central France in 1940, is organizing a gathering for young adults aged between 18 and 35 that will take place in Chicago from 25 to 28 May 2012 (Memorial Day Weekend). The gathering is part of Taize’s "Pilgrimage of Trust on Earth" which began more than thirty years ago. The aim of the pilgrimage is to foster trust and reconciliation in today’s world. A recent European stage that ended on 1st January 2012 brought together 30,000 young adults from all over Europe in Berlin, Germany.
A video especially made for the preparation of the Chicago meeting is now available and can be seen online
DePaul University in Chicago will host the gathering. Groups from DePaul University and many other universities and colleges in the U.S. frequently visit the Taizé Community in France. More than 100,000 young people take part each year in the weekly meetings of young adults in the small village of Taizé in France. The Taizé Community invites young adults to unite prayer and human solidarity. Taizé’s founder, Brother Roger, received numerous awards for the Community’s work with young adults, including the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education (1988), the Templeton Prize (1974), the Robert Schumann Prize (1992) and the 1996 Notre Dame Award for international humanitarian service.
Starting next February, three Taizé brothers will be living in Chicago and coordinating preparations in the city and region. Among other things, they will be working with friends from Chicago to find accommodation with families for the young adults coming from outside the Chicago area.
They will also travel in the U.S. and Canada to stimulate interest in the Chicago weekend. They brothers can be contacted at chicago2012 taize.fr
A provisional program is available online. In early February an online registration form will be available.
Registrations will close on April 30th.
Brother Roger’s successor, Brother Alois, will be present at the Chicago gathering.
For more information on the Taizé Community
Photos of Taizé and the Taizé European Meetings are available. See
To obtain high resolution copies of these photos, please contact media taize.fr, giving the filenames of the photos you are interested in.
For more information on the Chicago gathering,
contact: chicago2012 taize.fr