Communauté de Taizé

The Taizé Community (French: Communauté de Taizé) is an ecumenical Christian monastic community in Taizé, Saône-et-Loire, Burgundy, France. It is composed of about one hundred brothers, from Catholic and Protestant traditions, who originate from about thirty countries around the world. It was founded in 1940 by Brother Roger Schütz, a Reformed Protestant. Guidelines for the community's life are contained in The Rule of Taizé written by Brother Roger and first published in French in 1954. Taizé has become one of the world's most important sites of Christian pilgrimage, attracting over 100,000 young people each year for prayer, Bible study, communal work, and shared reflection. Central to its contemplative atmosphere are simple, meditative chants that support prayer and silence. Through these practices, the community fosters ecumenism and reconciliation across diverse Christian traditions. The community's church, the Church of Reconciliation, was inaugurated on 6 August 1962. It was designed by a Taizé member and architect, Brother Denis. Young Germans from Action Reconciliation Service for Peace, created for reconciliation after World War II, assumed the work of building it. Owing to the founder's commitment, since its inception the community has evolved into an important site for Catholic–Lutheran ecumenism. A Catholic, Brother Alois, succeeded as prior after his predecessor's death in 2005. In 2023 Brother Alois announced his resignation and was succeeded by Brother Matthew on 2 December 2023.