Some Recent News

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Praise be to you, God of life. We turn to you in the midst of great trials that humanity is going through. Enable us to assume our share of these trials in peace.

Our intercession becomes even more fervent: show your presence to those who are suffering from the coronavirus, from other forms of illness, from environmental calamities, and from injustice and violence, and to those who are forced to leave their countries. Be with those who cannot cope any more.

We also entrust to you, again and again, those who have been victims of the abuse of power or of trust, especially those who have been sexually abused in the past by one of us. Be with those who are recovering from such trials.

We praise you for all those who, in the midst of the world’s suffering, are helping to heal wounds, who give themselves generously for others. They are signs of hope; they carry humanity forward.

In this time of great change, you call us to be converted. We would like to let ourselves be taken hold of again by your kindly presence, like Moses before the burning bush, like the disciples on the way to Emmaus and so many others. We would like to do everything possible to make our life a sign of your future and your faithfulness.

You enable us to renew our personal prayer and the community prayer. May the fire of Christ’s love be at the centre of our lives, not our worries, however serious they may be.

Praise be to you for the many testimonies of support that we receive, which are a beautiful expression of the communion of the Church. Enable us to keep moving forward towards the visible unity of all those who love Christ.

We thank you, living God, for our life in community. It has become deeper and simpler over the course of the last year; and over the last few days you have opened our eyes again to the beauty of this great gift that you give to us. Christ calls us his brothers and he gives us to each other as brothers. Thanks be to the Holy Spirit for enabling us day after day to see the diversity among us as a source of riches, and to persevere in kindness and brotherhood. In this way we can to contribute to the growth of a brotherhood and sisterhood in the world.

Praise be to you for awakening in us a clearer awareness of our responsibility to take care of creation. Praise be to you for the young people who make us attentive to this, and for the scientists and policy makers who seek to make the necessary decisions.

God of peace, we do not yet see the new things that are coming through the pains of childbirth that humanity is going through at present. May your Holy Spirit change our way of looking in order to discern a new horizon, and to understand what you are asking of us at this time.

So, as humble pilgrims of trust, we set out again. Even with very limited means, may we be stimulated by a spirit of festival.

And already we praise and sing to you, eternal God. We express to you our gratitude for life; we believe that you are at work in each one of us, in our community and in the world today, through Christ who is with us and through your Holy Spirit who will inspire us.

And now, we will sing together a song to the Holy Spirit together, and then those of the brothers who have committed their whole lives will prostrated themselves on the ground as a reminder of their offering to God. .

• Outside the Church of Reconciliation, like every year, a crib has been prepared by the roadside. Things will be added to it week by week right up until Christmas.

• Every week of Advent, a Bible meditation will be put online on the Taizé YouTube channel (with subtitles in French).

• The prayer read by Brother Alois during the midday prayer can be found as always each day on this page in English. It is also available in French and German.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this year France underwent a lockdown in spring and again at the beginning of November. Between these two periods, from June 14 to October 30, the community was able to organise youth meetings in Taizé. A health protocol including fifty measures was drawn up and sent to the local authorities.

In recent months, around six thousand people have stayed in Taizé to take part in the weekly meetings and several hundred others have passed through Taizé without actually staying on site. All the participants were informed before their stay and on their arrival of the need to respect the "barrier measures", which are acts of attention and care towards others and especially towards the most vulnerable.

Praying together and meeting others whilst wearing a mask and keeping a distance are not necessarily natural. But thanks to everyone’s efforts, the meetings went well and there were no outbreaks of infection in Taizé.

During these four and a half months, some participants in the meetings learned whilst staying in Taizé that they had been in contact with people who had tested Covid-19 positive. According to the recommendations of the French authorities, these "close contact" cases were isolated and tested in turn. A few other people developed symptoms of the coronavirus and were also tested. Most of these people tested negative for Covid-19. However, there were also some positive results from these tests (see list below).

The brothers and young volunteers who were in contact with the groups that came during the autumn holidays spent a week in quarantine at the beginning of November and none of them fell ill.

We would like to thank all those who came to Taizé during this period and who took part in the meetings in such special conditions.

After an unusual summer, meetings are continuing in Taizé

The summer period was unusual in Taizé due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Since youth meetings restarted in June they have taken place without difficulty but in strict compliance with “barrier gestures” which we have been able to explain as being gestures of care for others, especially those who are most vulnerable.

Each week in July and August, around 500 people arrived: mainly individuals or small groups of friends, but also some groups of young people from France, Germany, Poland, Estonia and the Netherlands. A Dutch TV crew recorded a programme for the Protestant Sunday broadcast in mid-August, centering on the the newly released recording of Taizé songs in Dutch.

The meetings will continue over the coming weeks, and this year adult participants are also welcome in November and December.

At the end of 2020, a European meeting in Taizé

As the European meeting in Turin has been postponed for a year, the Community is inviting young adults aged 18 to 30 to take part in a new stage of the pilgrimage of trust on earth: a European meeting in Taizé, from 27 December 2020 to 1 January 2021.

It is already possible to register for this event on the Taizé website-. The deadline for registration is the beginning of December. However, the number of participants will probably be limited to 500, with quotas by country, depending on our hosting capacity following the health regulations in force at the time. A series of online events will include young people from all continents in this meeting.

For those who wish it will also be possible to come the previous week, from 20 to 27 December, in order to celebrate Christmas at Taizé.

At the beginning of January, brothers of the Community will travel to different cities in Europe for prayers with songs from Taizé. If possible one prayer will be held in each country Additional information will soon be published.

A double anniversary in August

The month of August marked in Taizé a double anniversary: the 80th anniversary of the first arrival of Brother Roger in Taizé, on 20 August 1940, and the 15th anniversary of his death, on 16 August 2005. During one of his weekly meetings with young people, Brother Alois said: “This month of August, allows us in our community to give thanks to God for the life of Brother Roger, who arrived in Taizé 80 years ago. It was the beginning of a foundation that continued over the years, in successive stages.”

Some news in brief

• At the end of August, an “online weekend” allowed 300 young adults from more than 50 countries to participate in a special programme including Bible studies, sharing groups and workshops.

• The same weekend, another online programme was offered to families who would have liked to come to Taizé this summer but who had to postpone their stay.

• In August, Brother Alois sent two messages of solidarity, one to the leaders of the Churches in Lebanon following the explosion in Beirut, and another to young people in Belarus.

Live online prayers

Prayers continue to be broadcast live from Taizé. This was started when many countries in Europe entered lockdown and it has proved to be a link of communion for many people across the world:

• each day, it is possible to hear the midday and evening prayers by live audio from the Church of Reconciliation.

• and every Saturday the evening prayer is broadcast (live video) at 8:30 p.m. (CEST | UTC + 2) on Taizé social networks.

Feedback on the workshops held this summer

Many workshops were held in the summer. Those presenting them included Sister Cécile Renouard from the Ecological Transition Campus, MEP Philippe Lamberts, Protestant theologian Katharina Opalka, Dr Christoph Benn, from the “Joep Lange” Institute” in Geneva, and Germain Dasylva, former FAO representative.

Every Saturday afternoon, one of the workshops workshop was broadcast online. They can still be viewed on the Taizé website.

Prayer vigil for the safeguarding of creation

All over the world, from 1 September to 4 October, Christians are gathering for prayer vigils, to reflect and to take concrete action for the safeguarding of Creation. For the third year running, we are publishing an order of prayer for such a vigil.

Prayer

Holy Spirit, in our trials you encourage us to look to Christ. His are the ups and downs, the joys and sorrows of our lives. And when the obstacles seem insurmountable, your mercy assures us that we can continue to love.

Words of Brother Alois

This date of August 20th brings to mind the beginning of a foundation that had already been maturing in Brother Roger’s heart for several years. It slowly developed into a step-by-step quest, with much probing, hesitation and doubt, until the decisive moment of the first brothers’ life commitment at Easter 1949. This founding dynamism of Brother Roger then became apparent throughout his life, expressed in particular in the writing of the Rule, and later of the Sources of Taizé.

It is well worth meditating on Brother Roger’s way of doing things and letting ourselves be inspired by it. When he left his country to come to Taizé, he had no definite plan drawn up in advance. He did not know what God expected of him in the long term. He only knew that he had to start and he was ready to take a first step. By taking a first step, we discover the second and then little by little the next steps along the way. It is this approach that he pursued all his life. This is what the date of August 20th can symbolise for us.

Prayer for August 20th

Like each day, Brother Alois’ prayer is published online here.

Living God, on this day we praise you for the calling you gave to our brother Roger. Eighty years ago he came to Taizé with the desire to introduce a spiritual life in a region where women and men were victims of one of the great rifts in the world. Following in his footsteps, you invite us to be witnesses of communion, so that Christians may be united and help your peace to shine forth in humanity.

Some articles to read

In English

• Article on the site of Vatican News

In French

• Interview with Br Alois on the site of the Catholic Church in France
• Article on the site of France 3 Bourgogne
• Article on the site of cath.ch

In Italian

• Interview with Br Alois in the Osservatore Romano

Dear friends in Belarus,

We are following very carefully in Taizé the news from your beloved country. Know that we are feel so close to you during this time. Your country has been mentioned in the intercessions of our community prayer and, together with my brothers, I pray these words with you:

Risen Christ, you are well aware of our anxieties and hardships. Tirelessly, you tell us: "fear nothing, I am there." We entrust to you the people of Belarus and in particular the women and men who are struggling for justice and freedom. Show your presence to those who are being subjected to violence. You are our peace.

In deep and fraternal fellowship with all of you,

La lettre au format PDF.

Dear friends,

The images of last night’s explosions in the port of Beirut have reached us in Taizé. We are deeply shaken by these events, which have once again put your people under great strain, after these last few months marked by the economic and social crisis and the pandemic.

I want to tell you how close we are to you, in solidarity with your suffering, united in prayer.

At midday prayer, with the brothers and all the young people present this week in Taizé, we pray for you with these words:

God of peace, many people on earth know suffering. On this day, we pray to you especially for the people of Lebanon, sorely tried in recent months and again yesterday by the terrible explosions in the port of Beirut. We pray to you for the victims and their relatives, for the families who have lost so much, and we entrust them to you, God of all humankind.

With all our brotherly affection.

Brother Alois

Easing of the lockdown: it is now possible to come and stay in Taizé

As part of the easing of the lockdown in France, it is once again possible to come to Taizé. From 14 June, the programme will include the usual elements, while taking into account the restrictions related to sanitary measures and with possible changes to schedules.

At present we need volunteers: young people from 18 to 28 years old who are ready to stay for a few weeks or longer. Apart from all the practical tasks of welcoming visitors, a stay as a volunteer in Taizé is also a good time to reflect on the next stages of your life, through personal reflection, regular common prayer and sharing with others. More information on volunteering in Taizé is online here.

Since we were unable to accommodate any visitors in April and May, we are extending the time when adults over the age of 30 may come to Taizé this year: they are welcome between 1 November and 20 December in addition to the usual dates for 2020. We ask everyone planning to visit to register in advance.

Summer 2020 | Health measures

All those who come to Taizé this summer will need to abide by the measures of physical distancing and the hygiene guidelines. These “barrier measures” are to protect others, especially those who are most vulnerable. For the meetings to be opened in Taizé this summer it is important that all respect these sanitary measures.

Live prayers

Up till now, since mid-March, each evening prayer was broadcast live, here and on social networks. We are grateful for the communion shared in this way with many people around the world.

This has now been discontinued, but instead there are two ways to share the Community’s prayer:
 every day, at 12:20 and 20:30 French time (CEST | UTC + 2), a live audio of the midday and evening prayers from the Church of Reconciliation, through a new interface on the Taizé website
 every Saturday at 20:30 (CEST | UTC + 2) a live video of the evening prayer with the light of the Resurrection, on the Taizé Facebook and Instagram pages.

Five years after Laudato Si’

For the fifth anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si’” Brother Alois published an article in various European media including on “TheTablet” blog in Britain. “Five years ago, Pope Francis published his encyclical Laudato Si’” in which he addressed "an urgent invitation to a new dialogue on how we are building the future of the planet.” (...) This call is more urgent today than ever. And the crisis created by the Covid-19 pandemic suddenly highlights how vulnerable our common home is.

In addition, to mark this anniversary, an exhibition is currently on display around the Church of Reconciliation in Taizé: it includes twenty large format photos by Yann Arthus-Bertrand illustrating extracts from the encyclical.

A weekend meeting online for Pentecost

Something unprecedented was offered online for the Pentecost weekend: evening prayers, bible reflections, theme workshops, small sharing groups. Here were the key times of this weekend Other ideas are in the pipeline.

The exhibition shop reopened in Taizé

Since 11 May, the shop selling the work of the brothers has been open in Taizé. Currently, the shop is open Monday to Saturday from 11am to 12noon, and from 2:30pm to 7pm (6pm on Sundays).

A new album in Dutch

A new album with songs of Taizé has just been published: 16 songs, mainly in Dutch language, including “Adem in ons” (Atme in uns) which gives the album its title. There are two supports: on CD and on a bamboo USB stick. A video has been published posted on YouTube to give an overview of the songs included.

Prayer

Holy Spirit comforter, on this day of Pentecost, we welcome your presence. As Jesus promised us, you give us the joy that remains, deep in our being. It even carries us through our trials. You do not impose yourself, you come to strengthen us, you defend the dignity of each human being. And, in our great diversity, it is in you that we find unity and peace.

The following text comes is translated from the site of the network.

Why the "Églises Vertes" designation?

• Because we believe that God reveals Godself through creation and has entrusted it to human beings, who must nurture and care for it.
• Because life on earth is a blessing and shows the love of God. Acting to safeguard it is a way of loving our neighbour and acting for justice.
• Because the ecological crisis commits us to hear the cry of the earth that "is groaning in labour pains" (Rm 8.22) and to choose, with hope, lifestyles that pave the way for the emerging of a new creation both now and in the future.
• Because God’s people can pray and act to bring that hope to the world.
• Because we are aware that it is by being converted together that we will succeed in building this fairer and more ecological world necessary for the survival of humanity.

In the UK, the Eco Church network promotes similar ideas in link with various denominations.

In accordance with the French authorities’ plans for the gradual easing of the lockdown, the showroom where the brothers’ work is exhibited ("L’Exposition") opened again on 11 May.

At the moment, it is open from

• from Monday to Saturday between 11am and 12 noon and from 2.30pm to 7pm.
• on Sundays between 11.15 am to 12 noon and from 2pm to 6pm.

We ask everyone to carefully adhere to the "barrier measures" and physical distancing. Please come with a mask.

Some items (soft drinks, crisps, snacks…), which were bought for young people who had registered for Easter and who could not come, have been put on sale in the showroom at cost price.

Easter morning prayer live from Taizé

Easter message

Brother Alois’ Easter morning reflection is on-line at this page of the site.

Prayer by Brother Alois

God of love, look upon your family. Come to the help of our humanity stricken by so much suffering. Comfort those who are weeping, support those who are boldly taking up the challenge of solidarity. Through the resurrection of Christ, you open up for us a horizon as yet uncharted, where a new light is appearing. And so, just like on Easter morning, we can find hope again and say with our lives: “Christ is risen!” - “Yes, he is risen indeed!”

A virtual choir sings "In resurrectione tua"

This afternoon, a video will be published on this page, on YouTube and the Taizé Facebook page. 50 young adults from all over the world - singers and instrumentalists - share from their homes the song “In resurrectione tua”.

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• As on every evening since March 16, at 8:30 pm evening prayer will continue to be broadcast online via Facebook Live and on the Taizé web site. The national channel of RCF will continue to broadcast this prayer every evening from 8:30 pm to 9 pm (except on Holy Saturday) with a meditation in French by a brother during the time of silence.

• Every morning of Holy Week at 10 am there will be a video with a short biblical meditation by a brother.

• On Easter morning, a special prayer will be broadcast at 11am, with a meditation by Brother Alois.

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Concluding prayer

God of all human beings, we praise you; you welcome us each day anew. Through Christ Jesus you bring us together in a beautiful diversity, in communion also with our brothers who are currently living in Brazil, Cuba, Senegal, Korea, Bangladesh, and with our brother Jacques in hospital.

Like the Virgin Mary, we want to listen to your voice and welcome the life you offer us, in the confident trust that it is you who give to us.

Christ Jesus, merely to say your name already reminds us of your presence as the Risen Lord. It comforts us and unsettles us. At each stage of life, you renew our readiness to follow you, and in joy and simplicity we go from one beginning to another.

We have listened to your call not to forget hospitality. Through your Holy Spirit, you enable us to put it into practice. From you, Christ, we receive the impulse of the heart that creates in us an attitude of hospitality. Thank you for this experience we can have: by welcoming others, we receive more than we give. Your love makes us free, free to go towards others with our vulnerability, without fear. You are gentle and humble of heart, and you give us the courage of humility, the knowledge that we need one another.

By this council, by these days lived together, you have renewed the kindness between us, that gift which is a pearl of great price. May this kindness grow between us, may it also grow throughout your Church so that Christians may progress ever more towards reconciliation and unity.

When the Church is radiant with your kindness, it communicates the Gospel; it fulfills its mission; it is a reflection of kindness for the poorest, the excluded, for migrants, a reflection of kindness for creation. Make us attentive to those who do not find their place in their local Church.

Through our life of communion you invite us to be a sign of your presence, especially with the young people you entrust to us. At a time when an attitude of "everyone for themselves" is increasing at every level, we would like to be attached to a deeper current that goes through humanity, a thirst for friendship and generosity.

Through the Holy Spirit you are constantly at work in the world. In gratitude for your love that will never end, let our life sing your praise! In Taizé and in our fraternities on the various continents, let us witness to the beauty of life!

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The week of prayer for Christian unity will be celebrated from January 18th to 25th. In Taizé, a prayer open to all will take place on Friday 18 January at 6 pm, in the presence of the Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Evangelical leaders of the region.

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Praying with the songs of Taizé

Two prayers with the songs of Taizé, open to all, will be proposed in Rome, in connection with the synod, during the month of October – more information on the Taizé website in Italian.

Brother Alois’ intervention at the synod

Responding to the spiritual thirst of the young and to their search for communion

Articles 68 and 69 of the Instrumentum Laboris express the desire for a “more relational” Church, capable of “welcoming without judging in advance”, a “close and friendly” Church.

My brothers and I are often surprised to hear young people we welcome in Taizé say that they feel “at home” there, and we wonder why. It may be that, to be truly themselves, they need to feel useful, to see their creativity encouraged, to receive responsibilities.

Then their spiritual thirst awakens and it is important to go patiently, together with them, to the sources of faith. They know that they are welcomed by a community, first in the common prayer where all participate actively, by singing, listening to a brief biblical reading, a long moment of silence. And often they deepen a personal relationship with Christ.

We make sure that the liturgical signs avoid formalism, but are beautiful and simple. For example, we see how deeply young people participate, every Friday night, in a prayer around the cross, to lay down before Christ what is too heavy for them.

We say to ourselves: like Christ, let us listen to them with our hearts, reminding ourselves that he is already at work in their lives – and let us respect the sanctuary of their conscience. Those who listen must be accompanied themselves. There is a lack of accompaniers in the Church: could a ministry of listening be entrusted not only to priests, men and women religious, but also to lay people, men and women?

In Taizé, young people also discover that the Church is communion. Without creating an organized movement, we always send the young people back to their parishes and the places where they live. So many of them like to pray together with others of different faiths. They understand, if only implicitly, the call of Christ to be reconciled without delay.

We have recently experienced such a communion at an Asian young adult meeting in Hong Kong, a stage in our pilgrimage of trust. Of the young participants, 700 came from mainland China – it was the joy of the Holy Spirit.

I would now like to make a concrete proposal. Often, the words used and the manner of speaking are obstacles that prevent many young people from hearing what the Church says. Could not the final document be accompanied by a short letter, written in a simple style, addressed to a young person looking for meaning in his or her life?

I would like to summarize what I just said with a few words from Brother Roger, the founder of our community:

“When the Church listens, heals, reconciles, she becomes what she is at her most luminous, a communion of love, of compassion, of consolation, a clear reflection of the Risen Christ. Never distant, never on the defensive, freed from all harshness, she can radiate the humble trusting of faith into our human hearts.”