More than half the young people, ranging in age from 17 to 30, were from former Communist countries, including Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Russia and Ukraine, said Taizé, an «international ecumenical community» established in 1940 by monks near Cluny.
The Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant participants were housed by Parisian families during the five-day event.
In the mornings, they met in 400 venues in Paris to pray and exchange experiences on the «signs of hope.» In the afternoons, they met at the Exhibition Park of the Port de Versailles to attend meetings on various topics, conducted in 23 languages.
«Do we not see arising, even in the most problematic situations of the world, some signs of undeniable hope?» Taizé founder Brother Roger asked in his 2003 Letter, which was the subject of reflection during the event.
Among the personalities who sent messages to the participants were John Paul II, Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow, Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Since 1978 this year-end event has attracted up to 100,000 young people. More details are at http://www.taize.fr/.
