Faithful God, we thank you for the life of our dear Pope Francis, whom you called to be with you this morning. He rests in your light, having given his life in the service of your Gospel, in the mystery of communion that is the Body of Christ, the Church. With courage, he urged us to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit today, and to go to the outskirts of the Church and the margins of society to live a sign of greater love. Praise be to you!

As the news of Pope Francis’ death reached us in Taizé, it is with deep emotion that we pray for him, filled with deep gratitude for his life.

The news of the Argentine Pope’s election on March 13, 2013, and his first words in St. Peter’s Square brought us great joy at Taizé. Several brothers were present in Rome at the time, and I myself was in Russia, in the city of Nijniy Novgorod, welcomed by an Argentinian Catholic priest. It was the Cardinal Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Maria Bergoglio, who had sent him to Russia a few years earlier.

Having watched the live announcement together, the priest exclaimed: I’m Catholic, you’re Anglican, we’re in an Orthodox country - this is the sign that this pontificate will be ecumenical! And when I hear those words again, I can only confirm them.

We are particularly grateful to Pope Francis for having worked so hard for Christian unity. He did so through landmark visits and concrete gestures that increased communion. I recall, for example, his visit to the Phanar in November 2014, during which we were deeply moved by his words: "It is precisely young people - I’m thinking, for example, of the multitudes of young Orthodox, Catholics and Protestants who meet in the international gatherings organized by the Taizé Community - it is they who today ask us to take steps forward towards full communion. And they do so, not because they are unaware of the significance of the differences that still separate us, but because they know how to see beyond them, they are able to grasp the essential that already unites us."

Among the gestures that marked his pontificate, I recall in particular his friendship with Patriarch Bartholomew, with numerous Orthodox and Protestant leaders, and his fraternal welcome of Pope Tawadros to Rome in May 2013, his trip to South Sudan with the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury and the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, and also his presence at the ceremonies commemorating 500 years of the Lutheran Reformation in Lund, Sweden, where he expressed his gratitude “for the spiritual and theological gifts received through the Reformation”.

On this day, the memory of the “Together” ecumenical prayer vigil is particularly close to my heart. From the very beginning of this idea, which originated with my predecessor Brother Alois at the opening of the Synod on Synodality, the Pope expressed his full support, then accompanied the project and issued this invitation in January 2023: “The path of Christian unity and the path of the synodal conversion of the Church are linked. (...) From now on, I invite brothers and sisters of all Christian confessions to take part in this gathering of the people of God”. His presence in St. Peter’s Square on September 30, 2023, and the way he welcomed Christian leaders from all the Churches, demonstrated a genuine desire for fraternal communion in charity.

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From the very beginning of his pontificate, Pope Francis’ calls to reach out to the most vulnerable, to welcome migrants and refugees, to listen to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor, spoke deeply to us at Taizé. He gave value to those who thought they had none. And I know how much his encyclical “Laudato Si” challenged many people, as did his attention to inter-religious dialogue, which enabled him to forge friendships beyond Christian circles.

His trust in us, and in me as prior of the Taizé Community, remains a gift from God, for which we offer a prayer of thanksgiving today. A few weeks ago, I was due to see him again for another audience, but his hospitalization prevented this, and the following day we gathered with leaders of various Christian denominations in Rome for an ecumenical prayer, following which we rejoiced at the news of his release from hospital.

His pontificate came to an end on Easter Monday. With the brothers and the many young people gathered in Taizé these days, we pray for him, filled with profound gratitude for his life and his service to the Gospel and the Church.

Brother Matthew, prior of Taizé
Easter Monday, April 21, 2025

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