Welcome to all of you who are in Taizé these days! We are glad to welcome you, whether you have been here for a week, a few days, or even if you only arrived today. Some of you already need to leave this evening, so I promise our meeting will be brief.

Today we celebrate St Francis of Assisi, someone loved by all Christians of the Western tradition and even beyond. We know him above all for his radical choice to leave everything to follow Christ poor, gentle and humble of heart.

Far from isolating him, this choice opened him to communion with God, with Creation, and with people of every kind. His humility and acceptance of his own poverty made him attentive to the Holy Spirit to understand the signs of the times.

At first he understood that Jesus was asking him to rebuild the little church of St Damian in Assisi. Then he realised it meant setting out to help rebuild the whole Church. He and his companions went from place to place to share the good news of God’s love in all things and for all people.

St Francis even went to Egypt to meet the Sultan, seeking paths of peace at a time when there was war in the Holy Land between Christians and Muslims. He left his own culture to try to understand a man whom many Christians of that time saw as an enemy. He understood that we cannot wage war in the name of any religion.

We also know St Francis for his love of Creation. His closeness to the elements, to the birds and even to a wolf helps us see how God spoke to him through all that is created. His feast marks the end of what has become the Season of Creation in the liturgical tradition. For just over a month, we have been paying special attention to safeguarding the gift of Creation, our Common Home.

St Francis even embraced the one he called Sister Death. He lived with a hope beyond all hope, for he knew that the merciful love of God embraces everything.

I hope you have discovered or rediscovered a hope during your stay in Taizé that will give you strength and courage for the time ahead on your journey of faith. Through his death and resurrection, Christ comes to meet us in our discouragement and turn us towards his light. He offers us his peace in the midst of our fears.

Are we ready to welcome this peace? It slowly transforms us so that we can pass it on around us, each and every one according to their possibilities. Then our societies and our world can leave the trap of polarisations and move towards a communion where all feel welcomed and understood.

For those of you who are between 18 and 35, know that you are expected in Paris between 28 December and 1 January. Brothers from Taizé and Sisters of St Andrew, together with a team of volunteers, are preparing this meeting at the invitation of the Archbishop of Paris and the bishops of Île-de-France, and also in collaboration with the Protestant and Orthodox Churches.

Come and join us to live this sign of peace and fraternity!