Laudamus Te

In 1940, in the midst of the turmoil of war, the 25-year-old theologian Roger Schutz bought a house in the small Burgundian village of Taizé, not far from the Franco-German demarcation line. Poverty, flight and expulsion marked the daily life of the community and again and again Brother Roger took in needy people and those seeking protection in his home until the Gestapo occupied the property while Schutz was in Geneva. After the liberation of France, he returned to Taizé with other clergy and took care of war orphans. The community around the priest grew steadily and developed into a spiritual center where faith and charity shaped everyday life. In the meantime, Taizé has developed into a regular place of pilgrimage for people of all generations and denominations, who meet there for devotion and contemplation. Taizé also plays an important role in this.