Today the community of Taizé has a thousand brothers, Catholics and of different evangelical origins, from almost thirty nations. By its very existence, the community is a \\\"parable of communion\\\", a concrete sign of reconciliation between divided Christians and between separated peoples.
The brothers live solely by their work. Gifts are not accepted. They do not even accept their personal inheritances for themselves, the community gives them to the poorest.
Some brothers live in disadvantaged parts of the world to be witnesses of peace, to stand beside those who suffer. In these small fraternities in Asia, Africa, Latin America, the brothers try to share the living conditions of those who affect them, striving to be a presence of love alongside the poorest, street children, prisoners, the dying, those who are wounded in the deepest way by emotional lacerations, human abandonment.
Over the years, more and more young people began to arrive in Taizé. The Sisters of St. Andrew, an international Catholic community founded more than seven centuries ago, some Polish Ursuline Sisters and the Sisters of St. Vincent di Paolo who assume part of the tasks of welcoming young people.
Churchmen also go to Taizé and the community has thus welcomed Pope John Paul II, four Archbishops of Canterbury, the Orthodox Metropolitans, the fourteen Lutheran Bishops of Sweden and numerous pastors from all over the world.
Since 1962, brothers and young people, sent by Taizé, have never stopped coming and going from the countries of Eastern Europe, to visit with the utmost discretion those who were locked up within their own borders.
Brother Roger died on August 16, 2005, at the age of 90, killed during evening prayer. Brother Alois, chosen by him for a long time as his successor, is now the prior of the community.
Since 1978, the community has organized an annual European meeting called Pilgrimage of Trust on Earth in a European metropolis, to the East and to the West. It lasts five days and takes place at the end of each year, usually from 28 December to 1 January. There are complaints from thousands of young people.
In 1981, on the occasion of the London meeting, a London newspaper wrote:
\"The most impressive crossing of the English Channel after landing in Normandy.\"
In 1987, on the occasion of the meeting in Rome, St. Peter\'s Basilica in the Vatican was a splendid setting for a prayer in the presence of Pope John Paul II. On that occasion, Brother Roger called the Church a \\\"mystery of communion\\\".
They were over a hundred thousand in 1994 in Paris.
Beginning in 1974, Brother Roger published a letter every year which, translated into more than 50 languages, was then used throughout the year during meetings in Taizé and in many parishes, as a starting point for reflection. The first two, Letter to the People of God and Living the Unexpected, were prepared for the opening of the Youth Council in 1974.
The five days are punctuated by moments of common prayer, with songs and moments of silence, and workshops on various religious and ecumenical themes. Important for the spirit of these meetings is the hospitality of the cities that welcome the thousands of young Europeans in gyms, schools and private homes. The night of the last
