Young Europeans Welcome 2026 in Prayer | Shalom World News
As 2025 gave way to 2026, thousands of young Catholics and Christians from diverse traditions converged on Paris, transforming the city into a living pilgrimage of prayer, song, and hope. From December 28 to January 1, the French capital and the wider Île-de-France region hosted the 48th European Meeting organized by the Taizé Community—an ecumenical journey drawing 15,000 young people aged 18 to 35, including 1,000 participants from Ukraine. Nearly 60 brothers of the Taizé Community took part, embodying the vocation for which the community was founded in 1940: to be a sign of unity within the Church and the wider human family. Prayer echoed through Paris’s great churches, while the Accor Arena—filled each afternoon—became a vast space of silence, song, and shared longing for peace. Beyond formal gatherings, the meeting unfolded in homes and neighborhoods. Families across Paris opened their doors, joined by parishes, schools, and community centers that offered shelter and welcome. Testimonies, workshops, and local initiatives wove together stories of faith lived amid uncertainty. The pilgrimage now turns eastward, with the next European Youth Meeting set for Łódź, Poland, at the close of 2026.