Centennial Peace Garden

Paix * Shalom * Peace Heiwa * Paz * Amani The languages chosen for our Peace Pole are English, French (the Bon Secours Sister's origins), Hebrew (our spiritual roots), Spanish, Swahili, Japapnese (representing and including peoples and cultures of many nations).

Because of the generosity of many of our benefactors, theCentennial Peace Garden has become a reality. On September 11, 2003, the Bon Secours Peace Pole was planted at the entrance to this garden.The gate of this garden serves the same purpose as the great doorways in medieval cathedrals - it marks the transition from the everydayworld to a place of peace and harmony. Immediately inside the gate there is a dry landscape garden with benches.The small wooded slope on the right is enhanced with a series of boulders,spaced to form natural rooms and which may also be used as seating.

Like the Labyrinth,the Centennial Peace Garden provides a safe and easily accessible sacred space open to all. It is a beautiful addition to the unique cluster of sacred spaces at BSSC and exemplifies the balanced wholeness of the few Japanese gardens in the area open to the public. We hope that it will attract a significant number of new people to Bon Secours, and become another place for people to pray for peace.