Journals of Brother Roger of Taize, Volume I

Roger Schutz-Marsauche, known as Brother Roger, is one of the most influential figures in Christianity in the twentieth century. He was founder and first prior of the Taize Community in France, where tens of thousands of young Christians flock each year for their distinctive music and contemplative style of worship, spending time in prayer and reflection. But it is the community of monastic brothers, from differing Christian traditions and over twenty-five different countries, who makes this contemplative experience possible. They stand as a ’parable of community’ and as a sign of unity in the midst of a divided world and a divided Christianity. This first volume of Brother Roger’s journals covers his arrival in Taize during World War II through to the 1960s, in which young adults found the hill of Taize in their searching. These collected reflections on personal and current events offer an illuminating portrait of the founder of Taize, bringing to light key aspects of the community putting into practice the vision that inspired him. The second volume of Brother Roger’s Journals covers the years 1960-1972, focussing on the birth and initial preparation of a ’Council of Youth’, a project catalysed by the crisis in the Roman Catholic Church in the wake of the Second Vatican Council. Brother Roger also details the ongoing life of the community, the paths of his personal spiritual journey, and other encounters across those remarkable years.