25,000 to meet for Taizé weekend

(Vatican Radio) Starting on Saturday, about 25,000 young adults from across Europe will gather for three days in Strasbourg, France, for the ecumenical Taizé community’s 36^th annual European meeting.

The three days of prayer, fellowship, seminars and reflection will be led by the prior of the Taizé community, Br Aloїs.

The meeting was organized upon the request of the Catholic dioceses and Protestant churches on both sides of the Rhine River.

In an interview, Br Aloїs told Vatican Radio that one important aspect of the meeting is hospitality. Participants will be hosted in homes and local church communities in view creating more understanding among people from different countries and Christian denominations.

This year’s theme, he said, is to look for visible communion among all those who love Christ.

All of the European meetings are “like stations on our pilgrimage of trust on the Earth,” he said.

“Today, faith is not just anything young people receive as a tradition that they continue in a natural way, but they question faith. They want to have a personal conviction,” he said.

“And it is very important as Christians that we do not remain separate in our different confessions,” he added, “but that we try to do all together that we can do together.”

The other objective of the meeting is to face very concretely all of the questions that young people have, he said. “There is unemployment. It is more difficult to make plans for the future. So how can faith help to go through these times that are more difficult now?”

Listen to the full interview with Br Aloїs: