Episode 8 – The Easter Labyrinth: From Medieval Joy to Trauma Healing Through Embodied Prayer wit...
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In this episode, Deb Gregory speaks with theologian, photographer, and global labyrinth facilitator Dr. Jill Geoffrion, whose scholarship and ministry at Chartres Cathedral have shaped contemporary understanding of the labyrinth as a path of prayer. Jill’s work through Faith, Hope, and Love Global Ministries extends far beyond France, bringing labyrinth installations and healing practices to communities experiencing violence, displacement, and collective trauma.
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The conversation explores the sensory wisdom of embodied practice, the medieval Easter traditions of Chartres, the historical development of labyrinths in Christian contexts, and the surprising ways labyrinths create safe spaces for healing in places of suffering.
Historical Background
Labyrinths appear in Christian tradition as early as the fourth century, beginning with a repurposed Roman mosaic placed at the doorway of a North African cathedral in 324. Jill notes, “Anything that shows up in a cathedral has been around because it doesn’t get to the cathedral first.” By the ninth century, labyrinths appear in manuscripts; by the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, they are installed on cathedral floors in Italy and France, culminating in the large walkable labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral around 1220.
Jill clarifies a common misconception: medieval pilgrims did not use labyrinths as substitutes for traveling to Jerusalem. “The first time we even hear of such an idea was in the eighteenth or nineteenth century,” she explains. Instead, labyrinths served primarily as liturgical tools for the cathedral community.
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