What is Taizé?

Taizé (pronounced ta-ZAY) is a little village in the heart of the Burgundy region of France, home to an ecumenical community of brothers. These brothers are monks and contemplatives, embracing what is rich and central to the Christian faith. Through prayer, silence, and fellowship with people from many different cultures and Christian traditions, men and women have found in Taizé the presence of the risen Lord Jesus offering them a new way and vision for the future.

The community of Taizé was founded in the early 1940’s by Brother Roger Schütz (1915- 2005), who had a strong call to a ministry of reconciliation between divided Christian denominations and between separated peoples. Today the community is made up of over a hundred Catholic and Protestant brothers from thirty nations. They minister to over 100,000 pilgrims who journey to Taizé each year for a time of prayer and reflection. Taizé is best known for the music that has come out of its worship. Early on, those leading worship were confronted with how to communicate simultaneously with people speaking many languages.

It was quickly seen that music is the one universal language and thus became one of the most essential elements of Taizé worship. By singing short songs that are repeated over and over, people are able to learn them easily and find that such meditative singing naturally leads them into prayer. The gentle and repetitive qualities of this music allows deep contemplation and prayer on the sentiments that it expresses. Meditative singing thus becomes a way of listening to God. It allows everyone to take part in a time of prayer together and to remain together in attentive waiting on God, without having a fixed length of time.