Pope blesses Taize gathering

Youth participants gather with Taizé brothers for evening prayer. Photo: Katja Dorothea Buck/WCC

Pope Francis has sent a special blessing to the annual European Meeting of the Taizé Community, which is taking place online, due to the pandemic, from 28 December 2021 to 1 January 2022. A further in-person event is scheduled to take place in Turin, Italy from 7 to 10 July 2022.

A limited number of Taizé brothers, including the Prior, Frère Alois, and young people from the Piedmont Region are attending in person at the Taizé headquarters in France.

Among the highlights of the first meeting yesterday, was a prayer session with Brother Alois in front of the Holy Shroud in St John's Cathedral in Turin.

Also featured in the Taizé Meeting are workshops including two focusing on solidarity with migrants and on taking care of our common home. A peace march scheduled for New Year's Eve has been cancelled due to the pandemic.

Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin writes: "The Holy Father is praying for this intention.. he is united in thought and prayer with all of you who are present online, and sends you his warmest greetings."

Cardinal Parolin commends the Taizé youth for not "giving in to defeatism," but instead tackling difficult questions head-on, praying about them and listening to God's word in order "to shed light on the most complex human situations."

Recalling the events of Pentecost, Cardinal Parolin notes that on that day, the disciples "were all together" - and he reminds young people that "it is when we are together that the Spirit of God breathes in a special way." He goes on to explain that "with the current synod, the Catholic Church, too, is seeking to make itself more open to the work of the Spirit by inviting Christ's disciples to discover how much we need each other."

The Cardinal tells the young people that by choosing to face "human suffering and the pressing emergencies of the moment," they have been given "the opportunity to participate in the solutions." Although there is cause for concern and anxiety, he says that it is nonetheless true "that the Spirit of God never ceases to work and to give rise to creators of fraternity, solidarity, and unity." He assures them that by opening themselves "to the presence of the Risen Christ," by allowing Him to unify their hearts, they are preparing themselves to be among them.

Cardinal Parolin concludes his letter with a blessing from Pope Francis: "The Holy Father asks the Holy Spirit to bless you, the young Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants who are joining the European meeting in thought and prayer, and he entrusts you to the protection of the Virgin."

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Watch the gathering on the Taizé YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/taize