Labyrinth at the Franciscan Spiritual Center

At the Franciscan Spiritual Center in Milwaukie, on the sisters' grounds south of Portland, a permanent outdoor labyrinth anchors a retreat program that has offered walks and quiet days for decades. It is a program labyrinth in the best sense: walked with intention, open by arrangement. The Labyrinth Locator's record lists it as Medieval 5-circuit; installed April 27, 2020.

Every labyrinth is a walking practice, not a puzzle: a single path winds to a center and back out, and the walk is done slowly, as prayer or meditation. The pattern descends from the medieval pavement labyrinth at Chartres, and the modern urban revival began in the 1990s when Lauren Artress brought replicas of that path to American congregations and public grounds through Veriditas and the Labyrinth Society, whose World-Wide Labyrinth Locator now catalogs thousands. There is no branching and no trick to the path; walkers of every religion and none use it.

Visiting

francisspctr.com carries the site's own information and schedule.