The Taizé Community is a “parable of community,” a tangible sign of reconciliation between divided Christians and separated nations. It reminds us that fidelity to one’s own tradition does not require an exclusivist claim that “only we possess the truth,” nor does it lead to moral relativism or denominational indifference — Nazar Zozulia.
In the heart of rural Burgundy, France, the silence of the hills is broken three times a day by prayer that comes not just from one Christian denomination, but from many. Taizé, a small ecumenical monastic community founded in the shadow of the Second World War, has become a popular destination for many Christians from every corner of the world.
In an age when monasteries are often seen as relics of the past, Taizé draws thousands of young people who come not for debate or dogma, but for prayer, service, and the quiet listening of hearts. This spirit of ecumenism was powerfully evident from August 18–24, 2025. A large group of Orthodox pilgrims from war-torn Ukraine, whose trip was made possible by the support of the German Protestant Church in Baden (Landeskirche in Baden), were welcomed in Taizé by around eighty brothers from nearly thirty countries and different Christian traditions. And it is from the perspective of a pilgrim who was present that week that I will describe what Taizé is and what relationship it has with the Catholic Church.
Origins of the Taizé Community
„The more a believer wishes to live the absolute call of God, the more essential it is to do so in the heart of human distress” (Brother Roger).
In 1940, during World War II, 25-year-old Roger Louis Schutz, the ninth kid of a Swiss pastor and a French Protestant, left neutral Switzerland and settled in Taizé, a village near the border between Nazi-occupied and unoccupied France. Forced to flee to Geneva in 1942, he returned to Taizé in late 1944, where he cared for children orphaned or separated from their families by the war.
Brother Roger’s vision for community life was deeply shaped by his own family history. During the First World War, his French grandmother turned her home into a refuge for those fleeing the violence, devoting her energies to helping those most in need. Grieved by the reality of Christians from different denominations waging war against each other in Europe, she also took a bold personal step toward reconciliation. Being firmly rooted in the Evangelical Church tradition, she began attending the Catholic Church. Her commitment to both the care of those in need and the healing of divisions within Christianity left a lasting imprint on her grandson.
At Easter in 1949, that vision began to take institutional form. First seven brothers of Taizé made a lifelong commitment to celibacy, communal living, and a life of great simplicity. It was one of the first instances since the Reformation that Protestant men made such a commitment. That same year, Brother Roger and Brother Max made their first visit to Rome, where they were received by Pope Pius XII.
Catholic understanding of Ecumenism
„Never resign yourself to the scandal of the separation of Christians who so readily profess love for their neighbour and yet remain divided. Make the unity of the Body of Christ your passionate concern” (Rules of Taizé).
The Second Vatican Council, where Brother Roger and Brother Max were present as observants, renewed an authentic understanding of Catholic ecclesiology. It affirmed that the Church of Christ “subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the Successor of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with him”, while acknowledging “many elements of sanctification and of truth” outside of its visible structure (Lumen Gentium, 8). Similarly, the Decree on Ecumenism recognised that “men who believe in Christ and have been truly baptized are in communion with the Catholic Church even though this communion is imperfect” (Unitatis redintegratio, 3). It also acknowledged that “often enough, men of both sides were to blame” for the historical divisions that led to the separation of large Christian communities from full communion with Rome.
In this renewed spirit, the Council declared that “the restoration of unity among all Christians is one of the principal concerns of the Second Vatican Council” and emphasised that “this concern extends to everyone, according to his talent, whether it be exercised in his daily Christian life or in his theological and historical research”. (Unitatis redintegratio, 1, 5).
It was in this spirit of ecumenical openness that a warm friendship developed between Pope John XXIII and Brother Roger. Since 1966, the tradition of annual meetings between the Taizé prior and the Pope has endured to this day. In 1969 Cardinal Marty, head of the French bishops, authorized Catholics to join the Taizé community and the first Catholic brothers entered the community.
Brother Roger’s relationship with the Catholic Church
I have found my Christian identity by reconciling the faith of my origins with the mystery of the Catholic faith, without breaking communion with anyone (Brother Roger).
Throughout Brother Roger’s life, the Taizé Community sparked much controversy among both Protestant and Catholic circles. Some Protestants accused Brother Roger of leaning too closely toward Catholicism because of his close relationship with the Roman Pontiffs, while certain Catholic traditionalists viewed Taizé with suspicion as a threat to orthodoxy and confessional identity. Moreover, his reception of Catholic communion as a Protestant pastor also fueled rumors that either Brother Roger has secretly become Catholic or the Church has fallen into indifference and postmodernism, disregarding the precepts of its own canon law (CIC, c. 844, §1).
After Brother Roger’s death, Cardinal Walter Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (2001-2010), described his faith journey as one “progressively enriched by the patrimony of the Catholic faith.” Drawing on Brother Roger’s own testimony, Kasper explained that “‘it was with reference to the mystery of the Catholic faith that he understood some of the elements of the faith, such as the role of the Virgin Mary in salvation history, the real presence of Christ in the Eucharistic gifts and the apostolic ministry in the Church, including the ministry of unity exercised by the Bishop of Rome”.
This relationship was recognised in practice by the Catholic Church, which allowed Brother Roger to receive Eucharistic communion, as he did each morning in the Church of Reconciliation at Taizé.
However, the Church did not present this as a precedent or a change in discipline that would imply an acceptance of intercommunion. Brother Roger’s reception of communion remained an exceptional, pastoral recognition of a singular faith journey. As Cardinal Walter Kasper shared, Brother Roger “had entered into the mystery of the Catholic faith like someone who grows into it, without having to „abandon” or „break” with what he had previously received and lived”.
St. Pope John Paul II in Taizé
Today in all the Churches and Christian communities, and even among the highest political leaders in the world, the Taizé Community is known for the trust always full of hope that it places in the young. It is above all because I share this trust and this hope that I have come here this morning. (Pope John Paul II)
John Paul II understood the mission of the Bishop of Rome as “particularly directed to recalling the need for full communion among Christ’s disciples.” He insisted that beyond the boundaries of the Catholic Church there is no “ecclesial vacuum,” since many elements of sanctification and truth, which in the Catholic Church are part of the fullness of the means of salvation, are also found in other Christian communities. Ecumenism, he explained, “is directed precisely to making the partial communion existing between Christians grow towards full communion in truth and charity” (Ut unum sint 13–14).
For John Paul II, unity was neither optional nor partial, but a mandate rooted in the integral profession of the one apostolic faith. In continuity with the Second Vatican Council, he repeatedly stressed that authentic ecumenism begins with interior renewal and metanoia, a change of heart inspired by Christ’s call to “repent, and believe in the Gospel”. Without such conversion and the pursuit of holiness, efforts toward unity are doomed to failure.
During his visit to Taizé in 1986, the Pope encouraged young people to respond generously to Christ’s call, to draw joy and strength from the Church, and to bear witness to Christ’s love in their studies, work, and service. The Church, he said, needs the presence and participation of young people. He added:
“If you remain within the Church, you will of course at times be upset by divisions, internal tensions and the sorry state of its members, but you will receive from Christ, who is the Head, his Word of Truth, his own Life, and the Breath of Love that will enable you to love him faithfully and to make your life a success by risking it in a joyful gift for others. (…)”
’The parable of community’ in Taizé
The Taizé Community is a “parable of community,” a tangible sign of reconciliation between divided Christians and separated nations.
It reminds us that fidelity to one’s own tradition does not require an exclusivist claim that “only we possess the truth,” nor does it lead to moral relativism or denominational indifference.
Rather, it points to the truth that cannot be possessed or controlled, but must be received, lived, and continually sought in openness to the Spirit at work in our time.
Saint John Paul II’s vision of ecumenism calls first of all for interior conversion to Christ and the Gospel, so that the faithful may rediscover the fullness of the gifts entrusted by Christ to his Church. As the Decree on Ecumenism affirms, the more authentically Christians live the Gospel, the more they foster genuine unity through a “profound communion with the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit.” The unity willed by Christ, however, “is not a matter of altering the deposit of faith, changing the meaning of dogmas, or accommodating truth to the preferences of a particular age” (Ut Unum Sint, 18). Reconciliation cannot be achieved at the expense of truth.
Authentic ecumenism is therefore a mutual gift at the service of truth. It is expressed not only through prayer and a “dialogue of conversion,” but also through concrete cooperation and shared witness to the Gospel. A living sign that the Gospel can reconcile, transform, and unite Christians would demonstrate to the world the credibility and relevance of the Church’s mission, inspiring others to encounter Christ. Ultimately, love for the truth calls Christians to move beyond theological debate alone and to entrust their lives more fully to Christ, walking together in deeper faith and unity with the One who is “the way, and the truth, and the life.”
