By Father Paul Kam Po-wai
The Taizé Community is made up of around 80 brothers from various Church backgrounds, including Catholic, Anglican and Protestant, representing nearly 30 countries. Its very existence is a “parable of communion”—a living symbol of reconciliation between divided Christians and divided peoples. Brother Roger, the founder of the community, created a simple rule for life: “Every day, let your work and rest be enlivened by the Word of God; keep inner silence in all things and you will dwell in Christ; be filled with the spirit of the beatitudes: joy, simplicity and mercy.”
I first visited the Taizé Community in France during the summer holidays of 1992, staying for two weeks. My second visit was in the summer of 2006—a gap of 14 years. During those 14 years, the songs and prayers of Taizé constantly echoed in my heart and mind. I remember when I was a missionary in Africa [2003–2006], the chant “Nothing can trouble, nothing can frighten…” kept me constant company. I even translated it into Swahili to share with the parishioners there.
After returning to Hong Kong from Africa in 2006, I began holding regular monthly prayer meetings with a group of Hong Kong young people who had spent three months experiencing life at Taizé. We met at Ss. Cosmas and Damian Church in Tsuen Wan and St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Tsing Yi. This continued until 2018, when I left Hong Kong for missionary work in Cambodia. During those 12 years, alongside the monthly Taizé prayer meetings, I also helped the diocese from 2007 onwards to select one or two young people each year to go and experience life with the Taizé Community for three months.
Starting in 2010, the monthly youth retreats organised by the Diocesan Youth Commission began adopting Taizé prayer. From 2011, I joined young people on numerous occasions to take part in European, Asian and African youth meetings hosted by the Taizé Community. Then, for three consecutive years, we collaborated with the Taizé brothers in Hong Kong to arrange five-day, four-night gatherings for young people in East Asia: in 2015 at Yim Tin Tsai [with 50 participants], in 2016 at Caritas Oi Fai Camp, Cheung Chau [300 participants], and in 2017 at Ng Wah Catholic Secondary School [270 participants]. We also actively promoted this prayer of communion to prepare for the Taizé Asian Youth Gathering held in Hong Kong in 2018.
During my three years in Cambodia, Taizé prayer was still very much a part of my life. Although it wasn’t as frequent as in Hong Kong, we still held events occasionally in different parishes. After returning to Hong Kong in 2021, I came across the monthly Taizé prayer again at Holy Redeemer Church in Tuen Mun. Once I became vicar general, I arranged for Taizé prayer to be part of the Vocation Commission’s monthly spiritual gatherings. It was also featured in the three-day, two-night “Gathering of the People of God” held at the cathedral in October 2023. In May last year, we worked with the Taizé brothers again at Wah Yan College Kowloon, St Ignatius Chapel and All Saints’ Cathedral [Anglican], and did so again this May at St Benedict’s Church in Sha Tin and Holy Spirit Church [Anglican], organising a Hong Kong Taizé Asian Youth Gathering for 300 people.
These experiences have had a profound impact on me. It is not just about the Taizé prayer itself, but the spirit lived out by the brothers: simplicity, joy and mercy—and especially their mission of unity and communion. Attending these large gatherings in different places and seeing brothers and sisters from various countries and Christian denominations come together in the Lord’s name—leaving differences aside to learn from, listen to, and share with one another—moves me deeply every single time. Witnessing the transformation and growth in the faith lives of these young people never fails to touch my heart, making me praise the Lord’s grace from the bottom of my soul.
In Hong Kong, several Catholic and Protestant groups hold monthly Taizé prayer meetings. However, it is worth asking ourselves: what do we experience, feel and gain from these gatherings? Have we ever thought about the shared purpose behind them all? They are an invitation for us to live out the spirit of simplicity, joy and mercy, and to embrace our mission of unity and communion.
