As each year for the last five years, a week-long meeting, punctuated with times of prayer and sharing, has been held at Tiemcen, a little town in Algeria.These meetings are the result of a long friendship between the Taizé Community and the Church in Algeria, dating from the 1950s when several brothers stayed there, sharing the life of people living in shanty towns. When the country became (...)
Following their visits to Rwanda and Goma (DRC), and before returning to Nairobi, the brothers made their way to Burundi where, among other contacts, they met young people who had taken part in the November 2008 meeting in Nairobi. Song practice before prayer at Ngozi University With the stability which has followed the signing of a ceasefire and the rallying to the (...)
In May 2009, two of the brothers went to Goma where they met the young people who had taken part in the meeting in Nairobi in November 2008.We are sitting on two volcanoes that can awaken at any moment. One is the Nyragongo which has destroyed the town twice in thirty years. At night the molten lava of the crater projects reddish reflections into the sky; in the daytime, its trail of smoke (...)
For several years now the Taizé brothers living in Senegal have been working closely with Caritas, within the framework of the P.A.R.I. (a reception service for refugees and immigrants). Over recent months, the number of refugees they have welcomed has decreased significantly. The reason for this could be the present stability and absence of conflicts in the neighbouring countries. But what (...)
The presence of brothers in Nairobi makes it possible to maintain links with many people in East Africa. From 13 to 23 November 2010, two of the brothers visited Rwanda. They took part in the annual forum for young Catholics that was organised this year at Gikongoro. Two thousand participants from all over the country, as well as delegations from Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo, (...)
The violent crisis that erupted in mid-December 2013 has bruised the youngest and poorest state in the world. Talks between representatives of the two opposing camps are stagnating. The sadness and anxiety of the people are great. In areas not affected by the combats, life goes on. Although, in this context, it is difficult to travel and to schedule meetings in advance, a fraternal visit is a (...)
Two Taizé brothers spent time in South Africa from 22 September to 6 October. One of them writes about their visit.Cape Town Cape Town from Robben Island The “Centre for Christian Spirituality”, located in Cape Town, invited two Taizé brothers as guests for their 25th anniversary. The Centre was created by the former archbishop of Cape Town and Nobel Prize laureate, (...)
Some news from South Sudan following the visit of the one of the brothers.Yambio is the capital of the state of Western Equatoria, in the south of the country, in the forest that extends to the Congo and Central African Republic. A priest that I met told me: "In our region we have accumulated ordeals: there was the war and then the atrocities of the Lord ’s Resistance Army. Many are still traumatised and unwilling to return to their villages. There are many young people, ready to get to work. We need to train them and develop their (...)
At the beginning of June, one of the brothers living in Nairobi, Kenya, will be visiting Tanzania. He will have a number of meetings with young adults, in various places, among them: Arusha Friday 4 June, 3.00pmEsso ParishContact: Daniel 0768575713 Dar es Salaam Sunday 6 JuneContact: Franck0713769133 For further information on the visit please contact
From March 12th to 29th, two brothers were on pilgrimage across Benin, Burkina Faso and Togo, where one of them comes from. Here are some extracts from their daily diary.Benin Our stay in Benin began at the large seminary of St Gall in Ouidah, a historic town known as a departure point for slaves. We had a long conversation with the rector and shared a meal with the seminarians and trainers, (...)
From 2 to 9 October 2010, one of the brothers living in Kenya made a visit to Kampala, the capital of Uganda. The initial aim of the visit was to thank the young people of Uganda and their leaders for their remarkable participation in the pilgrimage of trust meeting in Nairobi in November 2008. Nearly 500 young people, from all the provinces of the country, made the journey in what was truly (...)