The Franciscan Center, a retreat in West Tampa, will participate for the first time this year in World Labyrinth Day by opening its labyrinth to the public. The center is located at 3010 N. Perry Ave. Tampa, right on the Hillsborough River.
“World Labyrinth Day, according to the Labyrinth Society, is a day to raise awareness for world peace and the way we do this is using labyrinths around the world,” said Theresa Collington, General Manager of the Franciscan Center, started by the Franciscan Sisters of Allegheny.
At 1 p.m. on May 1, whatever time zone someone is in, they will walk a labyrinth and send out positive vibes and prayers to bring world peace, she explained. “People all over the world will be walking their labyrinths to sending out reverberations around the world.”
“We are a retreat center, but we don’t turn anyone away who wants to walk the grounds,” Collington said. “We recently had a full moon labyrinth walk and we are seeing more and people coming out and walking the grounds.”
The labyrinth is for walking meditation. “It works,” Collington said. “The way it was explained to me was that you come heavy, and you leave light. You have something on your mind to meditate and reflect on, you get to the center of the labyrinth and you stop and leave it there, then come out light.”
Some days, she said, the labyrinth can be frustrating, while other days it seems like a breeze to navigate. “The more frustrated I become, the more I realize I need to be there.”
