In August 1940, at the beginning of the Second World War, Brother Roger arrived in the village of Taizé. He had just turned 25, and was laying the foundations of a community which he hoped would be as a parable of communion, a ferment of reconciliation in the human family:
“I think that, ever since I was young, the intuition that a life of community could be a sign that God is love, and love alone, has never left me. Little by little the conviction arose in me that it was essential to create a community with men who had decided to give their entire lives, and who would try to understand one another and to be reconciled, a community where heartfelt kindness and simplicity would be at the center of everything.”
Today, the Taizé Community is made up of about 100 brothers, Catholics and from different Protestant backgrounds, from close to thirty countries.
Brother Roger died on 16 August 2005, at the age of 90; he was killed by a deranged person during evening prayer.
Throughout the year 2015, the community is celebrating the 75th anniversary of its foundation and it invites everyone to remember its founder, 100 years after his birth and ten years after his death.
To prepare for 2015, Brother Alois, Brother Roger’s successor as prior of the community, proposed a three-year time of searching to renew, in the light of the Gospel, our commitment to human solidarity.