Taizé prayer with people with advanced dementia

Abstract

Since 2010, the CS Caritas Socialis in Vienna, Austria, holds monthly Taizé prayers for people with advanced dementia and their families. This offer was introduced based on experiences in the care home Haus Schwansen in Rieseby, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. In this article, we document and analyse people’s experiences to discuss the implementation and results of this practice.
The impetus for this research was the experience that speech-heavy prayer services do not address the needs of people with weakening language abilities. The repetitive patterns of Taizé music offer a more easily accessible alternative. The music created by brothers of the Communauté de Taizé in collaboration with the composer Jacques Berthier was aimed at young people. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that it also particularly resonates with withdrawn, elderly people who suffer from advanced dementia and loss of speech.
The article further acknowledges that even though liturgical celebrations have no intrinsic function they nevertheless hold significant salutogenic potential.