Diocese of Portsmouth

a service at Taizé

Taizé Community

Taizé is a small town in the Burgundy region of France where a monastic community, founded in 1940 by Brother Roger Schütz, has been the focus of Christian pilgrimage from all over the world. The community has become well-known through it’s simple, chant-like style of worship and prayer, and is especially popular with young people, with over 100,000 making pilgrimages to Taizé every year for prayer, study and communal work.

Bishop Jonathan will once again be leading a group of young people from our schools to Taizé this year. Pupils from both Christ the King College and The Bay will be embarking on a eight-day trip in June to experience this unique and wonderfully spiritual community. Bishop Jonathan led the first diocesan pilgrimage of young people to Taizé in July 2023. You can read about it here.

In addition, there will hopefully also be an opportunity for young adults from our diocese, between the ages of 18 and 29, to join the Diocese of Bath and Wells on a trip to Taizé from July 13-21. For more details, please contact Amanda Collinson, the Bishop’s Chaplain, on 02392 899692.

You can find out what goes on at the Taizé community on their website here, and read about the history of the community here.

Young people in worship at Taizé
Young people in worship at Taizé

Pilgrimage to Taizé for young people

Bishop Jonathan led a pilgrimage to the ecumenical Taizé Community in France from 15-23 July 2023, with places for young people aged 18-30. They experienced worship, prayer and fellowship with thousands of young people from across the world.

You can read more about Bishop Jonathan's experiences in Taizé, and why he’s hoping to introduce a new generation to this experience below.

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Taizé-style services

Our cathedral hosts a monthly Taizé-style service, usually the first Sunday of the month, offering an opportunity for peace and quiet, for stillness and reassurance. They meet in the Cathedral Nave to join in Taizé songs and chants and be led in prayer with a time of quiet reflection and meditation. The service usually lasts about 40 minutes. Taizé-style services do also take place in other parishes. See below for details.

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