 "Photo: The Phoenix/Chandler West")
 "Photo: The Phoenix/Chandler West")
Loyola students will soon have a way to go medieval on stress.
Since last spring, medieval studies faculty and students have been working to build a medieval garden and a small-scale replica of a 12th-century labyrinth outside the east end of Crown Center.
Co-director of the medieval studies department, Theresa Gross-Diaz, Ph.D., hopes the labyrinth will provide a unique opportunity for students to calm down before exams or engage in self-reflection.
“Walking the labyrinth is a contemplative exercise,” Gross-Diaz said. “Labyrinths are not supposed to make you lost, they’re supposed to make you found. There’s only one way in — you’re not in a maze like a rat looking for cheese.”
A labyrinth is a circular series of lanes that lead to the center, often considered a symbol for spiritual pilgrimage. The design for the labyrinth outside Crown Center is a downsized version of the one on the floor of the 900-year-old Chartres Cathedral in France.
The idea for the project was born a few years ago, when medieval gardens were chosen as the theme for the medieval studies department’s annual university lecture series. During that time, some of Gross-Diaz’s students became so interested in their studies that they wanted to create a garden of their own.
Initially, students wanted to build the garden on the roof of Crown Center, but the plan was later rejected as architecturally unsound, and the current location was chosen instead.
“This used to be a funny little piece of land that just had grass and some ugly yew bushes on it,” Gross-Diaz said, adding that she believes the project as a whole will bring a special aesthetic beauty to the area. “[The garden] is a way not only to beautify the campus but to have real student input.”
The project is funded through Loyola’s Division of Facilities Management.
“Phil Kosiba, vice-president of Facilities, got interested in this project from the very beginning,” Gross-Diaz said. “Between the students’ ideas and the little bit of gardening experience I had we came up with the design and the university just loved it.”
A group of over 30 students of all faiths and interests have joined in helping with the labyrinth and the garden, including Hillel and Student Environmental Alliance. The project is meant to bring students together to enjoy the beauty and rich history of medieval gardens while creating something meaningful.
Jared Labounty, a senior majoring in English and psychology, became involved with the project a month ago after he learned about it in a medieval studies class.
“I think it’s brilliant,” said Labounty, who helped paint the labyrinth and is looking forward to building the rest of the garden. “The people we work with are great, and anyone is more than welcome to help.”
The labyrinth will be available to walk on starting next week, depending on weather conditions. Gross-Diaz expects the garden as a whole to be completed by next summer. It will eventually include representations of different types of medieval gardens, such as a meadow and a monastic herbal garden. Gross-Diaz said there are also plans to install a water fountain and a statue of the Virgin Mary.
However, Gross-Diaz hopes that the garden will never stop growing: “The thing is, it will never be finished, because as a garden, it’s always going to evolve.”
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