Taizé Community

views updated May 23 2018

Taizé Community. Christian Community, Roman Catholic in foundation, in the village of Taizé in France, engaged in reconciliation in the world and in the Church. It was founded by Brother Roger ( Roger Schutz-Marsauche, b. 1915, known also as Roger Schutz) in 1940, but was closed down in 1942 by the Gestapo. In 1944 he returned with three brothers, and in 1949, seven brothers took monastic vows of celibacy, respect for authority, and common property. In 1982, the ‘pilgrimage of trust’ was inaugurated, to make apparent especially the yearnings and hopes of young people. Taizé has become a major place of pilgrimage and renewal. Pope John XXIII spoke of the community as a sign of hope in the world—‘Ah! That little spring time’.