Labyrinth at St. Paul's Monastery
Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States
On the grounds of St. Paul's Monastery, the Benedictine sisters keep a permanent outdoor labyrinth as part of the monastery's retreat landscape, walked by guests on silent days and by visitors at posted hours.
On the grounds of St. Paul's Monastery, the Benedictine sisters keep a permanent outdoor labyrinth as part of the monastery's retreat landscape, walked by guests on silent days and by visitors at posted hours. The Labyrinth Locator's record lists it as a Medieval Chartres replica, first installed by Paths of Peace in summer 2011 and restored in 2024.
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
stpaulsmonastery.org carries the site's own information and schedule.
Associated traditions & practices
Visitor stories