The Community
The Taizé Community comprises of around eighty brothers from different church backgrounds – Catholic, Anglican, Protestant – and from nearly thirty countries. By its very existence, it is a “parable of community”: a tangible sign of reconciliation between divided Christians and separated peoples.
Throughout the year, the community welcomes tens of thousands of young adults from Europe and other continents. They come for week-long meetings, during which they experience prayer and life together with time for biblical reflection and sharings, in an environment where they can ask questions about their lives and their future.
Most of the brothers live in the village of Taizé, in Burgundy, France. Other brothers, who have been sent on mission, share the living conditions of those around them in Asia, Africa, Latin America and in a district of the Paris suburbs. These small fraternities of a few brothers are a simple presence among their neighbours and in the local churches. By their very nature they remain temporary.
History
1940
At the outbreak of the Second World War, Roger Schutz-Marsauche, the 25-year-old son of a Reformed pastor, leaves Switzerland to help people in difficult situations in France. In Taizé, near the demarcation line that cut the country in two, he welcomes refugees, particularly Jews, fleeing the war. At the same time, he develops the project of creating a community, conceived by him during a long period of pulmonary tuberculosis.
Servant of communion
the prior
The fraternities
Taizé brothers are present for a time in small communities or “fraternities” in other parts of the world: Asia, Africa, Latin America and a district of the Paris suburbs.
These fraternities do not seek to create large institutions, but rather to be present in a simple way in the midst of others. The brothers live a life of prayer and service, is taking part in the life of the local communities. In many cases they work in disadvantaged neighborhoods, collaborate on social projects or accompany young people in vulnerable situations, always seeking to promote peace, justice and communion.
The brothers
The brothers' work
Read more!“Our vocation as community has committed us to live solely from our work, accepting neither donations nor bequests nor gifts – nothing, absolutely nothing. The boldness involved in not ensuring any capital for ourselves, without fear of possible poverty, is a source of incalculable strength.”
