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| Bro. Roger Schutz |
Founder of Taizé, in France (1915-2005)
Soon after WWII, Roger Schutz, a Swiss-born Protestant pastor, founded an ecumenical monastic community on the site of an abandoned abbey in Taizé, France. From the beginning, he hoped that Taizé, which included both Catholic and Protestant brothers, would help to heal the rifts among Christians - a hope that achieved considerable success. Without seeking formal conversion, Brother Roger was warmly embraced by Catholic Church leaders, and he received communion several times from the hands of popes. As he noted, “I have found my own identity as a Christian by reconciling within myself the faith of my origins with the mystery of the Catholic faith, without breaking fellowship with anyone.”
At the same time, Taizé became a spiritual refuge for the youth of the world. Tens of thousands of young people flocked to Taizé each year to imbibe the spirit of prayer and spiritual renewal. They, in turn, carried the spirit of Taizé back into the world and across the globe.
Upon Brother Roger’s death on August 16, 2005, Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, observed: “Very few people in a generation manage to change the whole climate of a religious culture, but Brother Roger did just this. He changed the image of Christianity itself for countless young people; he changed the church’s perception of the absolute priority of reconciliation…And he did this without any position of hierarchical authority.”
“For whoever knows how to love, for whoever knows how to suffer, life is filled with serene beauty.” ~Brother Roger of Taizé
For more information, please view the article here, by BBC.
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