Taizé Founder Stabbed to Death

Swiss Info ^ | 8/17/05

[marshmallow]

The Swiss-born founder of the Taizé ecumenical community, Brother Roger, has died after being attacked during a religious service.

Police said a woman stabbed the 90-year-old cleric three times in the throat during the service at the Taizé community in eastern France. He died immediately.

A 36-year-old Romanian woman was overpowered by worshippers and detained.

Around 2,500 mainly young people were attending the service when the attack happened.

Brother Roger was one of the leading ecumenical figures of the 20th century.

A Protestant pastor from western Switzerland, he enjoyed great respect among religious leaders and Pope John Paul II visited his monastic community.

A spokesman for the Taizé community said the woman approached Brother Roger during the service but was not noticed because the brothers had their backs to her. "We heard a cry, turned around and it was already done."

Pope Benedict said on Wednesday that he was shocked by the "terrifying" murder of Brother Roger.

Condemnation

The bishop of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg, Monsigneur Bernard Gernoud, condemned the killing, which happened on Tuesday night. He has sent his condolences and prayers to the Taizé community.

Organisers of the Roman Catholic Church's World Youth Day event in the German city of Cologne said they were shocked at the killing.

"Brother Roger has always been closely attached to the Catholic Church," Heiner Koch, the secretary general of the event, said in a statement.

The elderly cleric founded the Taizé monastic community in 1940 after leaving Switzerland at the age of 25 and buying a small house in the village.

Today the Taizé community is made up of over 100 brothers, including Catholics and Protestants, from more than 25 nations.

A German Taizé brother will succeed Brother Roger as head of the community. Brother Alois (51) left Cologne, where he was attending World Youth Day, to return to Taizé.

Brother Roger designated the German Catholic as his successor eight years ago, a spokesman said. Brother Alois has been with the community for 32 years.

Key Facts

Protestant pastor Roger Schutz-Marsauche founded the Taizé community in 1940. -

In 1945 the first brothers, all Protestant, arrived from Switzerland. -

Today the community is made up of more than 100 brothers from different Christian faiths and more than 25 different countries.

In Brief

Up to 100,000 people, especially young people, visit Taizé every year for a weekend or week of reflection and prayer. Taizé songs and prayers are used in churches all over the world.

Numerous dignitaries have visited the community near Dijon in France: Former Czech President Vaclav Havel, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Pope John Paul II.

[Tax-chick]

Oh, how terrible! That dear old man!

[NYer]

One of the most unforgettable sounds of Taizé is that of the bells calling people to Prayer.

Three times a day - (8.15 a.m. 12.20 p.m. and 8.30 p.m. on weekdays, 10 a.m. 5 p.m. and 8.30 p.m on Sundays) - the bells ring and draw people to the church. The sound echoes over the Hill and thousands of people converge on the church. Inside, the taped music fades - and, as the bells fall silent, the gathered people wait in a unity of silence for the first note of the first chant - waiting to sing again the praises of God.

"Prayer expressed in song remains one of the most essential expressions of our search for God. Short chants, repeated over and over, emphasize the meditative quality of prayer. They express in a few words a basic truth which is quickly grasped by the mind and gradually penetrates into one's whole being." - Brother Roger (founder of Taize)

May he rest in peace.

[Alia]

Police said a woman stabbed the 90-year-old cleric three times in the throat during the service at the Taizé community in eastern France. He died immediately. A 36-year-old Romanian woman was overpowered by worshippers and detained

This is horrifically sad news. If you learn anything about the murderer's profile, motives, can I ask you to ping me, pls?

[Alia]

Thank you for this additional data. I wonder who the murderer is politically aligned with. The word "assassination" is usually only used in re Politics and Nobility. Perhap this is the end game of those constantly kvetching about "separation of church and state". So, no one will notice...

[F-117A]

From another article.

"Every week five buses from Romania arrive on Sunday afternoon."

[sionnsar]

That is terrible. We went by there a couple of years ago.

[Salvation]

Prayers for Brother Roger and all his relatives.

[Teófilo]

This is disturbing and clearly diabolical.

-Theo

[pro610]

I agree ,there is something suspicious.
Lets see what surfaces in the next few weeks.

[sassbox]

This is just insane! What kind of person stabs a 90 year old monk? I hope we learn more about the motives and background of the killer; this whole thing is very disturbing. I'm very surprised that the MSM hasn't picked up this story yet, considering the influence of Taize and the many famous people who visited the community. Prayers for Brother Roger and the Taize community.

[pro610]

Here is something interesting,it seems that they have been mixing Buddhism with Christianity at Taize
Here is the link
http://wayoflife.org/fbns/taizegrowing.htm

[TotusTuus]

Prayers for the soul of Brother Roger, and for the Taize community.

[trisham]

How dreadful. The poor man.

[livius]

That's ridiculous. He was not "eliminated" to promote WYD, if that's what somebody is suggesting.

Anybody who has ever been around religious orders knows that nutcases swarm about and are frequently asking admission - and a lot of them get very P.O.'d when they're not allowed to join, which was apparently the case with this woman.

There is nothing more sinister to this than a nutcase who happened to succeed in her nutty project.

Taizé had its good points and its bad points, but it was not radical enough to attract crazies from either end of the spectrum. I think this woman was a free-lance crazy and I don't think any conspiracy theories should be raised here.