It was intolerable. The young man shook his head as he gazed at the Alps capped with snow. War had broken out across Europe. Again, the continent was descending into slaughter. For weeks he had been wandering the mountains of his home, trying to decide if he would stay in neutral Switzerland or travel to France and find a way to help those in need. Now he decided: he would travel to France and rent a house where he could offer shelter to anyone who knocked – Jews, communists, members of the resistance – even if it cost him his life.

Beyond this, there was a larger dream. For years, Roger had had the idea of a community, built on the monastic principles of chastity, poverty and obedience, in which “reconciliation would be realized, made concrete, day by day.” There would be prayer in the morning, at midday, and in the evening. In the face of another world war, this seemed more important than ever.

Brother Roger of Taizé devoted his life to reconciliation and drew in thousands who otherwise might have abandoned church. His journals show it wasn’t always easy.