Taizé's ecumenical community, whose founder, Brother Roger, was stabbed to death this week, hosts many Irish visitors, writes John Downes
The first glimpse you get of Taizé as you approach it on the journey from Macon train station is of its buildings rising up above the hill on which it stands. On a warm day, given its location in France's Burgundy region, it can be shrouded by a heat haze; at other times, it appears more clearly, as if inviting outside visitors to explore this peaceful place.
Inside Taizé's huge church, people sit on the ground - the only benches are around the sides - joining in with others who are singing and chanting the world-famous Taizé hymns. There are few barriers between these people, who are united by a striking sense of openness and calm.
This tranquillity was shattered earlier this week, however, when Brother Roger, the 90-year-old founder of the community, was stabbed to death on Tuesday night while praying in the church with his fellow brothers and some 2,500 worshippers.
A 36-year-old Romanian woman is being held over the killing, and if psychiatrists conclude she was responsible for her act, she will stand trial for the murder and could be sentenced to life in prison.
Brother Roger led simple, non-denominational worship services at Taizé three times a day, inviting people from all over the world - including many from Ireland - to join him in prayer and reflection.
A Christian ecumenical community with more than 90 brothers from 20 countries, Taizé has long-established links with Ireland, which Brother Roger himself visited in 1985.
Each year, youth and school groups from all over Ireland travel there to spend a week which, their leaders say, often counts as among the most memorable experiences of their young lives.
Bernie McCaffrey is one such person. As a youth work co-ordinator with the Kerry Diocesan Youth Service, she organises a week-long visit by a group of between 45 and 50 young people every July in conjunction with other youth groups in counties Cork and Clare.
The Taizé week works from Sunday to Sunday, with groups encouraged to arrive and depart on these days. McCaffrey says she is always struck by the effect Taizé has on her own group of around 10 young people aged between 18 and 25.
"I can actually see it while I'm there over the week. People can be a little bit tentative at first, thinking 'oh, I'm going to be in church three times a day'," she says. "And it can be a bit of a shock at first, for example the simple conditions. But once they get through Monday and Tuesday, they really begin to love it."
It's not that surprising that visitors enjoy themselves, given that anywhere between a few hundred and several thousand people of all ages and from all over the world stay there at any one time. By mingling with people of different cultures in the mealtime queues, in the smaller group discussion sessions and in the various working groups to which visitors are assigned, young people in particular can get to know complete strangers - and members of the opposite sex - quickly.
The focal point for this is the Oyak, a small not-for-profit shop offering a limited amount of hot food and drinks. At the back, there is an area where hundreds of young people gather around guitars for a nightly sing-song.
Despite all this, it would be wrong to say that Taizé is a success for everyone. Some people, perhaps understandably, find the religious icons and the community's emphasis on the Bible and Christianity too much to handle. Others find the firm limits on alcohol use too restrictive.
For its part, the community, while welcoming everyone, is unapologetic about its own beliefs and expects those attending Taizé to respect these.
But Fr Peter Sexton SJ, chaplain of Clongowes Wood College in Co Kildare, says one reason the 30-odd students he brings to Taizé every Easter decide to go there is the positive "word of mouth" they receive from other returning students. The Taizé day, while quite structured, is also very relaxed, allowing students to get into the way of life there quickly, he says.
"I think it taps into something in them. There is no aggression there, there is an atmosphere of trust, which is very unusual in a big gathering of people," he explains.
"One thing they do say again and again is that the thing that really stuck with them was the atmosphere at prayer time - the sense of calm and the music which drew them into it."
"I do think it has a big impact. I have met guys years later who say to me, 'I never forgot my time in Taizé'."