Manila (AsiaNews) – Around 3,000 young Christians and Muslims from Asia, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and even North America took part in the fifth pilgrimage organised by the Taizé community. Titled ‘Trust on earth’, the event ended yesterday in Makaty city (Manila). Its purpose was to help young people find God and fulfil their desire to work for the Church and society, not only through meetings and testimonials but also through prayers. The last time the Taizé community met in Asia was in Kolkata (India) in 2006.
The pilgrimage “was a time for being together, closer to Christ and the Church, discovering people from different backgrounds,” said Albert A. Loteyro, a youth animator from the Catholic University of Santo Tomas, Manila. What struck him was the sight of so many young people pray together in silence.
The ecumenical community of Taizé was founded in France in 1940 by Brother Roger Schütz. It arrived in the Philippines in the 1970s.
Every year, hundreds of young Filipinos, both Christian and Muslim, meet in Taizé, where they spend three months with other young people, sharing their stories and experiences of faith as representatives of the only predominantly Catholic country (other than East Timor) in Asia.
The first Taizé meeting held the Philippines was in Manila in 1991. More than 15,000 young people attended on that occasion,
For Br Alois Löser, current head of the Taizé community, the meeting “is a pilgrimage of reconciliation. We try to bring people together from different backgrounds to listen to each other and to share”.
The world must respect the principles of universal solidarity, social justice and responsibility, Br Alois said, adding that this can only occur with a change in the human heart.
Card Gaudencio Rosales, archbishop of Manila, took part in the event as well. In his concluding homily, the prelate urged young people to bear witness to the Christian faith in the world, insisting that they promote peace and hope in their respective societies.