Availability: When Are the Chairs Take Off The Labyrinth? When Is It Available For  Walking?

Contact the cathedral staff in French before you go to inquire about any specific dates when the labyrinth will be uncovered. 
Rectorat, Cathédrale de Chartres  16, Cloitre Notre Dâme  28000 Chartres, France
From the US: Tel. 011-33-2-37-21-75-02  In France: 02-37-21-75-02 From other countries +33-02-37-21-75-02
 From the US Fax 011-33-2-37-36-51-43  In France: 02-37-36-51-43 From other countries +33-02-37-36-51-43 (in french)
Email: cathedrale@diocesechartres.com  
Websites: http://www.diocesechartres.com
http://www.diocesechartres.com/cathedrale

Some wonder about how future renovations in the cathedral will affect labyrinth availability. At the present time, no dates have been assigned for the renovations in the nave. It is too early to know if and/or how these renovations might affect the use of the labyrinth. If you are concerned about this issue, it is best to address your questions to the rectorat office of the cathedral: cathedrale@diocesechartres.com or +33 23-721-5633 (023-721-5633 when calling inside France).

The schedule changes from year to year but in the recent past the labyrinth has been open most Fridays from approximately 8:30 amuntil 5:30 pm (before evening mass)starting in Lent (March or April) through All Saints Day (October). The labyrinth is not open on Good Friday, during certain pilgrimage times in May, during one Friday in September which changes from year to year depending on the concert schedule, or during certain cathedral events that are scheduled at the last moment, such as funerals.

Arrive when the cathedral opens at 8h30 and the labyrinth will likely be open (if the chairs were not removed the night before it can open as late at 10h00, or walk in the late afternoon (be sure to leave enough time to finish well before five thirty as the chairs are sometimes put back on early), for the fewest distractions from tour groups and others that wander across the labyrinth unaware of its significance.

In the past the cathedral has scheduled two after-hours guided labyrinth experiences a year. One usually is offered during Advent and one during Lent.These are conducted in French. You may inquire at the welcome (service-acceuils)office about these.

It is possible to inquire about arranging labyrinth use for groups after hours by calling the French-speaking cathedral staff at 011-33-2-37-21-58-08 (from the US). The rectorat office understands inquiries as the beginning of discussion about availability which includes providing information about your group and your specific interest in labyrinth use. They will provide you with a form that needs to be filled out before they can discuss the possibility of finding an appropriate time for your group to use the labyrinth. A donation and tip for the sacristan who works after hours is requested.

You may also inquire about receiving the necessary form by email at cathedrale@diocesechartres.com. Due to various factors, it seems to be getting more and more difficult to arrange for private group walks.

Introductory Comments

from my chapter on the Chartres Cathedral labyrinth in Praying the Chartres Labyrinth: A Pilgrim's Guidebook(Cincinatti: Pilgrim Press, 2006).

Many who come to Chartres Cathedral are not aware of the labyrinth. They may see it and wonder, “What’s this?” Others come with the express intention of experiencing the labyrinth that was laid into the floor around 1201 CE. This circular pattern has a diameter of approximately forty-two feet, three and three eighths inches. Most days, the majority of the pattern rests beneath rows of wooden chairs that fill the nave of the church. Its opening, bits of its pathway, and part of its center are exposed due to the aisle that has been created between the chairs.

The experience of praying the labyrinth in Chartres Cathedral is something pilgrims are likely to remember the rest of their lives. In using this ancient spiritual tool, one walks on beautiful stone as pilgrims have done for centuries; there is a sense of having entered holy history. As one moves on this circular pattern, different views of the cathedral’s architecture and stained glass come and go, inspiring, comforting, challenging, and reassuring. There is a pervading sense of safety one feels within the magnificent sacred space of the dark cathedral. The sounds and sights of a parish at work and prayer add their flavor to the encounter as well.

One page introduction in English prepared by the cathedral staff and updated by M. J. McGregor.

A Little History Related To This Church Labyrinth

Labyrinths have been identified in many different settings. This labyrinth, incorporated into the floor, is situated in a church.

Everything in a medieval cathedral was included because of a potential for teaching spiritual truth.

However, there are no historical documents that shed light on the designers’ intentions for the Chartres labyrinth. Documentation relating to medieval labyrinths indicate that children enjoyed various games on labyrinths, that architects sometimes placed their own images in their centers, and that clergy occasionally used church labyrinths for liturgical purposes.

Some suggest this labyrinth was thought of and used as a symbolic road leading to salvation. Others say it was utilized as a substitute pilgrimage when it was too dangerous to visit the Holy Land. There are those who claim it was used as a penitentiary tool for seeking God’s forgiveness. We may desire to speculate about this labyrinth’s original purposes, or make educated guesses based on related historical documents, but we can’t say with certainty what this labyrinth was created to communicate or the functions it served.

Sometimes the only way to experience the labyrinth
is by sitting on a chair on top of it.

The Chairs Covering The Labyrinth

It is hard for many pilgrims to understand why the Chartres Cathedral labyrinth is usually covered with about 217 chairs.

Contemporary labyrinth use in the cathedral is relatively new. While the cathedral staff has begun uncovering the labyrinth one day a week during warmer weather, they are still cautious about opening it at other times. Change often occurs slowly, especially in cathedral settings.

While we wait for greater public access to the labyrinth, let us pray with gratitude for those opportunities to use the labyrinth that are made available.

If you are in Chartres when the chairs are being taken off or put back on the labyrinth, your help will be most appreciated. This hospitable gesture is one that may smooth some of the tension that sometimes exists between those who do not understand why people use the labyrinth, and those whose lives are changed by doing so.

Shoes

Many Americans like to walk the labyrinth without their shoes. Some explain this desire by quoting Exodus 3:5b (NRSV), “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” Others suggest that people who are used to walking and protecting canvas labyrinths get in the habit of leaving shoes behind.

Some pilgrims to Chartres are warned, “Wear socks, the cathedral floor is very dirty!” Even so, people can be seen taking off their shoes and socks before entering the labyrinth. Many Europeans find this odd at best, even offensive. Cultural expectations about taking off shoes differ. When seeing people walking without shoes onlookers sometimes wonder, “Is this an esoteric practice used to connect with the energy of the ground?” For some it is. Making direct contact with a beloved spiritual tool appeals to different people for different reasons.

Tours to the Labyrinth Originating from Paris (In English)

Starting from Gare Montparnasse, Paris most Fridays between March (or the beginning of Lent-dates change each year)-end of October (All Saints Day).

Contact Michelle Campbell at labyrinthexperience@yahoo.com
or by phone: +33 1 53 82 01 30. From the US: 0 11 33 1 53 82 01 30. In Paris: 01 53 82 01 30

Michelle has been walking the labyrinth at Chartres for over 10 years and has developed a tour which incorporates its history and symbolism.

Another Resource On The Labyrinth In The Chartres Cathedral

I went to Chartres Cathedral in 1997 to see if I would recognzie its labyrinth. I had been a student of the cathedral when living in France in 1975 but couldn't remember if we had studied the labyrinth.When I stood gazing at it some twenty years late, I realized that I had no recollection of it. Madame Triantifilou's lectures must have kept me so busy scribbling notes in my cahier that I never had time to look down!

Upon returning home from my  pilgrimage, I sat down to write up my notes. Before I knew it, I had written my first book on the labyrinth, Praying the Labyrinth. (Cincinatti: Pilgrim Press, 1999). Here's what my publisher says about it: "...the perfect introduction for those preparing for their first journey through the labyrinth--as well as a helpful meditative resource for seasoned labyrinth users who seek to bring new and deeper meaning to their lives."

Just Walk It!

Once while walking the labyrinth in Chartres, I overhead a young woman ask, “What does it mean?”
Her companion didn’t answer, but kept walking as if to say, “Your experience will help you understand.”

The Petit Labyrinth Graffito of Chartres Cathedral. Written by Jill and Alain Pierre Louët. Caerdroia 40: 2010.

If you have questions, or would like to make suggestions about this page, please email Jill.