Day 4 - France (9 June 2019)

I believe I thought I knew how today was going to go. However, in hindsight, I would’ve worn a skirt and done more research to talk with to the Bishop of Chartres about the cathedrals’s labyrinth. 

The only other time I was in Chartres was when I was a missionary, and the details of that memory has blended into the background of my life. However, what an incredible day!

We started with taking a group picture in front of the Cathedral. Solène explained a little about the architecture, and had students use their arms to show how the ceilings were increasingly strong to support the structure, including the flying buttresses to hold the walls in place. It was really clever! 

We only had 25 minutes before mass started, ands no pictures would be allowed during mass. So, we kept the information really brief, and then we headed over early to take some pictures.   

I then explained a little about the symbolism of the labyrinth just before Solène asked me to explain about it to our group. 

When I first walked up to the cathedral, we were created by the Bishop of the Cathedral, where he learned some of us were from Utah. I then needed to have my bag searched for security. 

As you walked in the doors and up the.main path, you could tell that the labyrinth was on the ground as you walked in, though most of it was covered with chairs for Mass.  

 As I was explaining the information to another participant, the Bishop walked up beside me, and listened to my explanation. He asked if I knew the specifics of the Chemin de Jerusalem, and I asked if he would explain it. 

What happened next was really special for me. This Bishop, who was prepared to teach his congregation on Pentecost, explained that there was no wrong way to proceed on the path. Eveyone would end in the middle of the Labyrinth.  To me, it was symbolic of all he different pathways people take to get back to our Creator, and is a sort of rebirth for us. 

I asked him if I could record his explaination, to which he agreed. He explained that there were 270 stones in the labyrinth. This represents the 9 months that Mary carried Jesus in the womb. It is multiplied by 30, which represents the number of years Jesus had when he started his ministry.  

He said if the rose window were to fall forward onto the floor, in the center of the both window and labyrinth would hold Jesus Christ. The information he shared in the handful of minutes was invaluable to me to help me further with my research.  

Afterwards, we had about 15 minutes to walk around and take pictures. It was worth the rushed effort!  Chartres Cathedral is known for a few major things:  the labryinth, the blue stained glass (which was difficult to achieve during that time), and the Veil of the Virgin Mary.  Here are a few of the pictures I took:

It was so special to be inside of the Cathedral during Mass for Pentacost. A few of us decided to stay and observe. While the Bishop welcomed everyone, he mentioned that some had come from far away, including America, and even more specifically, Utah! Who would’ve thought the Bishop would give a shout-out to us from Utah?!?

It made me pretty emotional when I had the thought that the whole church was there to worship God, and that we were witnessing a special moment.  What a day to attend Mass in Chartres on Pentecost!  

I was the only one who inderstoood the Mass, but would translate the major ideas, while they looked around at the stained glass and started to learn the stories of the people which were told from the Bible, much like their counterparts who couldn’t read and learned the stories from the stained glass.  

Out of the four of us, two had never been to Mass, and for one was a long time ago. We also witnessed two young babies get baptized on this special occasion.  

As there were several who went up for their communion/sacrament (?) we snuck out early to pick up a quick sandwich and eclair in the town before it was time to meet up and head back to the bus. 

We all piled back in the bus with its tiny seats, and drove over to the Chateau de Chambord. This is the largest castle in France with its hundreds of rooms. 

It was created by François I. It was finished in 1519, 500 years ago. He ruled for 30 years, but only spent 70 days at the castle.  What a gorgeous chateau! 

Chambord has a double helix staircase,l in the center of it, and several impressive architectural details. It also has 100 less fireplaces than it has rooms in it. 

I think Heidi said it best when she mentioned that we were given free reign to explore a French Chateau, and how it was fantastic to discover all about it!  We also saw a statue in one of the windows, and it looks like a ghost. 😊

The last part of the visit for me included imagining how life would’ve been at the castle. I’m grateful for such incredible edifices that can withstand 500 years of use and still survive and shine for us today. 

Wrapping up the evening, we made a pit stop; and then ate dinner before heading towards the new hotel. It was not quite as nice or as spatious as the last one, but I have enjoyed the contrasts in our experiences. 

I think Heidi described today best when she explained that it feels like we are meant to take this trip, at this time. Today we directly learned from a Bishop about the labyrinth at Chartres, attended Mass on the day of Pentecost, and visited the Chateau de Chambord during the year of its 500th anniversary. What an incredibly memorable day for us all!