The labyrinth at the Weber Retreat & Conference Center, on the grounds of the Adrian Dominican Sisters Motherhouse, was dedicated on New Year’s Eve, 1999. Over 100 people gathered to cross a sacred threshold into the third millennium. “Our gathering prayer called us to craft a spiritual vision worthy of taking us into the future, worthy of who we are and who we are called to be,” said Sister Esther Kennedy, OP, spiritual director at the Weber Center. “The ritual was held at midnight and with candlelight. We walked the labyrinth and gathered in song and prayer around a sacred fire. It was a wonderful and very joyful opening of this sacred path.”
The Weber Center labyrinth pattern follows that from the Chartres Cathedral in France, which was constructed around A.D. 1209 and has 11 circuits that follow a meandering path. At its center lies a six-petaled rose whose petals, arranged in a clockwise sequence, symbolize a spiritual progression from earthly concerns to divine enlightenment. “Unlike a maze, there is only one path that leads one into the center, a place of rest and inner listening, and guides one out with whatever their experience,” said Kennedy. Sister Kathleen Schanze, OP, and Kennedy took the lead in adding the labyrinth to the Weber Center grounds. When construction began, they provided the builders with a laminated 14-by-18 inch copy of the Chartres labyrinth so they could see the sacred geometric pattern they were creating. “We were so touched and delighted that the men kept the image near, reminding them they were creating a sacred path for others to walk. Their work became an act of love,” said Kennedy. Kennedy emphasized the health benefits of walking the labyrinth. “It provides an opportunity for individuals to symbolically be aware that life is a path,” she said. “Step by step, you come into the center. There, pause and simply listen, open your heart, and receive whatever may arise within you. When ready, begin walking the path back home.” The Weber Center labyrinth was refurbished in 2022, a process that included raising the labyrinth’s bricks, which, after years of cumulative footsteps, had begun to sink. And, in September 2025, a 25th anniversary celebration ritual was held. The labyrinth is open to all, as are the other outdoor reflective spaces located at the Weber Center, including the Cosmic Walk, the Nature Path, and the Weber Garden. “We are nature,” said Kennedy, “and walking any of these pathways can awaken in us a sense of the sacred and deep appreciation for the gift and vulnerability of all creation.”
