Last Sunday was the feast of Pentecost, the end of the Easter season. It is the time when we celebrate the fulfilment of God’s promise to send the Holy Spirit to be present among us, so that we may be witnesses to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. We speak often of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but is not one of the greatest gifts that the Holy Spirit comes to remind us of all that Jesus said to us? That was the promise Jesus made to his friends in John 14. He also calls the Holy Spiri

Many of you have come this week, from different parts of Germany but also from several dioceses of France, as well as from Sweden and Lithuania. Other countries are also represented at Taizé, and let us not forget those who come from Africa, Asia and the Americas, particularly among the volunteers who live here for longer periods and who support the weekly meetings. Welcome to you all! In a moment, two of you will ask me a question and I will try to answer, but before that I would like to share

Welcome to all of you who have come from the four corners of Europe and beyond to share Holy Week with us here at Taizé. I extend a special greeting to the young people who have come from countries currently marked by war. Lebanese and Ukrainian young people are among us and have carried, together with young people from different continents, the icons these past days at the beginning of evening prayer. I would like to thank all our volunteers — young adults from all over — who give between one m

Thank you for being with us this week as we enter the season of Lent ! You come as the sun pierces the clouds bringing with it the hope of the beauty of springtime which is gently emerging from the long winter. This week is almost an Atlantic meeting ! Many of you come from Portugal and others have joined us from New York. A special welcome to you all. I would like to express my gratitude to all the teachers and other group leaders who have accompanied all you young Portuguese this week, and als

On this night, which for many of us is an opportunity to gather with family, community, and friends in joy and sharing – even if for some of us it is the first time we are spending this night away from our families – we celebrate the memory of the birth of Jesus. The reading from the prophet Isaiah reminds us of the promise that it is in the middle of the night, in the darkness, that God’s definitive intervention in the history of his people will be revealed. The sign of God’s intervention annou

Today, on this fourth Sunday of Advent, the reading presents us with the figure of Joseph. In the Gospels, we do not hear much about Joseph, and the text we have just heard is one of the exceptions. We can easily imagine his confusion, even his despair, when he learned that Mary, his fiancée, was pregnant. All his plans for the future were thwarted. There was not only the personal desappointment, but also the public shame that accompanied such a situation. But the Gospel presents him to us as a

John’s question is surprising: “Are you the one who is to come, or should we wait for another?” Is this really the same John? The one who leapt for joy in Elizabeth’s womb? The one who pointed to Jesus and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The one who claimed he was not worthy to untie the straps of his sandals? So… why the doubt? Why this anxiety, this fragility that comes up all of a sudden? This question is not just a weakness on John’s part: it makes sense. It touches on identity – that of Je

In the texts we have just read, we heard about two people who were aware that they were living through a moment in history that dramatically engaged the responsibility of their people. In relation to God, this awareness fully engaged them both in their own time and in the future. And even though the world seemed to be collapsing before them and beneath their feet, they remained grounded in the hope of what the Spirit of God is capable of doing among human beings. John the Baptist was waiting for

This first Sunday of Advent is also the day on which we commemorate the Apostle Andrew. I would therefore like to say ‘Happy Feast Day’ especially to the Sisters of St. Andrew, whose presence in Ameugny for almost 60 years is a gift from God, and also to all the Andrews among us, known or hidden! At the beginning of this new liturgical year, what do the Scriptures we have just heard tell us? The reading from the book of Isaiah announces peace. Isaiah's time was no easier than ours. In the 8th ce

You have all come here with a desire, a longing to spend time with others and also on your own. Is not each one of you seeking something? If Jesus was to ask you, “What are you seeking?” how would you answer? These were the first words he said in John’s Gospel and were addressed to two people who wanted to follow him. During this time, I am preparing the Letter which will accompany the meetings in Taizé next year. To help me prepare it, I asked six of our volunteers to react to these words of Je

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 isolati

While the man [who had been healed] held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, thou

Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to be grieved and agitated. Then he said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.” And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me, yet not what I want but what you want.” Then he came to

The rain has come to wash away the summer dust and quench the parched land around us. We too are thirsting for what was tired and discouraged in us to be washed away, so that renewal and meaning in our own lives, as we seek to deepen our commitments in faith and also in society, can become reality I would like to say a heartfelt welcome to all of you who have come to share in this week of reflection on the theme of “Justice and Peace”​. I would like to say a big thank you to all who have spoken

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord rescues them from them all. He keeps all their bones; not one of them will be broken. Evil brings death to the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned. (Psalm 33/34:

Jesus said to his disciples, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way

When Jesus returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door, and he was speaking the word to them. Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. When Jesus saw the

God said to Abraham, “As regards your wife Sarai, you must not call her Sarai, but Sarah. I shall bless her and moreover give you a son by her. I shall bless her and she will become nations: kings of peoples will issue from her.” Abraham bowed to the ground, and he laughed, thinking to himself, “Is a child to be born to a man one hundred years old, and will Sarah have a child at the age of ninety?” Abraham said to God, “May Ishmael live in your presence! That will be enough!” But God replied, “Y

This week, it is a special joy to welcome several groups of Orthodox Christians from different countries among us for this week of witness and sharing of Orthodox faith. Historically and still today, many Orthodox Christians live in the eastern half of our European continent. Tomorrow, instead of our usual evening prayer, there will be the celebration of the Orthodox Divine Liturgy at which we can all assist. The blessed bread will be distributed by Taizé brothers to those of us from the Western

During this week when the temperatures have been so high, I wanted to say a big thank you to all of you for persevering with the meetings and times of prayer. You have been very patient with the simple conditions that we can offer and we need to think about how to improve things to take into account the changing weather. In a few moments, I would like Leon from Zimbabwe, who is volunteering in Taizé at the moment to share some thoughts with you. But before that, I would like to speak about two d

I returned on Monday to Taizé after spending the last week with five of my brothers in Rome where we were among the hundreds of thousands of young people from all over the world who were taking part in the Catholic Jubilee of Youth. We had been asked to lead prayers during the week in a city centre church and also participate in an ecumenical prayer with two other communities on Friday evening. It was a festival of faith in Christ which showed us that Christianity is never a kind of monoculture.

This week, there are over 50 different countries represented in Taizé for our weekly meetings, from every part of the world except Antarctica. A very warm welcome to you all! Our diversity of backgrounds, languages, cultures and traditions brings challenges, but is it not also a wonderful sign in our world today? It is possible to live a visible sign of unity in our human family, what our community calls a “parable of communion” as we pray together, listen to the Word of God and build a common l

A warm welcome to all of you who have come to spend this week with us in Taizé! Many of you come from Germany, but among us are also groups coming from Austria, France, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and other countries as well. But I would especially like to express my joy for the presence of young Muslim believers together with three imams and also young Christians with priests and pastors who are taking part in our Muslim-Christian friendship meeting during these days. W

Thank you for being with us during this week of meetings in Taizé. Many of you are from Germany, but there are also groups here from Sweden, Ireland and the Netherlands, not forgetting the team of young volunteers who are with us from further afield. This past week, new volunteers arrived from Chile, Mexico, Chad, Indonesia and Vietnam. But a special welcome for the group from China that has been with us this week. It is for you that we have been singing “Bless the Lord” in Mandarin! In a few mo

So many of you have come from different parts of Germany to be with us during this week when we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. There are also young people with us from other countries. A special greeting to those who have come from Åland, the archipelago of islands between Finland and Sweden and also to the young people who arrived recently from further afield: from Nicaragua, Mexico, Peru, Kenya, Indonesia, India and Thailand. And we say goodbye to the Malaysians who have

Welcome to you all, whether you have been with us from the beginning of the week, or if you have just arrived as for the Pentecost weekend. We are happy to share this days of prayer, community life and reflection with you. In a moment, Abel (NL) and Christine (MY) are going to ask me a question, which I will try to reply to, but before that I would like to share a few thoughts about the Bible reading we heard from John’s Gospel this evening. Some of you might like to look again at the text on th

Brother Matthew was invited to speak at a meeting which brought together experts and practitioners from various European backgrounds who are involved in formation within the Catholic Church, for an in-depth reflection on pastoral and synodal formation in the future. It took place from May 11 to 14, 2025 at Villa Cagnola, near Milan (Italy). Here is the text of what he shared , in English and in French.

Christ is risen! What a joy it is to welcome you during this time when we are celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus together! You have come from Romania, Lithuania, Sweden, France and various parts of Germany to join us in Taizé for a week of prayer and sharing, an experience of human communion that is also an experience of the Church, this mystery of communion that is the Body of Christ. And this week we are marked by the death of Pope Francis. I've received so many messages over the last few d

Welcome to all of you who have come to Taizé this week, especially from France and Germany, but also from other countries. It’s a great joy to have volunteers with us from Indonesia, Colombia, China, Japan, USA.... Without perhaps realising it, you are a sign of a communion that knows no limits in Christ, that does not abolish our persons, our cultures and our languages, but that goes beyond them to make us understand that we are all loved by God. We are at the beginning of Holy Week, during whi