PHOTO BY KAREN A. AVITABILE Volunteers Lynn Gadacy, left, and Mary Smith place stickers with names of the deceased on votive candles in St. Michael Church in Beacon Falls. During November, All Souls’ Month, parishioners request names to be placed on the candles that remain lit 24 hours a day.

Story by Karen A. Avitabile

For the past five years, St. Michael Parish in Beacon Falls has been remembering the souls of the departed by placing their names on votive candles during All Souls’ Month, when Catholics unite in prayer to relieve the sufferings of the souls in purgatory.

“We light the candles to remember the souls in purgatory who can’t pray for themselves but we can pray for them,” says Father Joy Jacob, pastor of St. Michael Parish.

Praying for the dead is a longstanding tradition that goes back to the earliest days of the Church. To mark All Souls’ Month in November, about 90 votive candles will burn 24 hours a day inside St. Michael Church. On a weekly basis, a volunteer committee replaces the old stickers with new requested names of the deceased to be memorialized. 

To prepare, the candle stands were set up earlier this month and the committee began placing the first round of names on the candles to be lit on All Souls’ Day, Nov. 2. 

Visitors to St. Michael Church can kneel and pray in front of the candles which are placed on stands at the foot of the altar. The church is open 7 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on weekdays, and before and after weekend Masses.

“It’s nice to see a remembrance of your loved one in front of the church,” says committee member Lynn Gadacy. “When the church is all dark, you can see the glow of the candles.”

Committee members agree that the parish is well known for remembering the deceased, not only during All Souls’ Month but throughout the entire year. “There is a real connection that people want to pray and have their loved ones remembered,” says Ann Hopkins, sacristan and a committee member. “This parish says Masses for the deceased on a regular basis.”

Claudia Csuka, a member of the committee, has two votive candles, one for her husband and one for her grandson. “It gives me a special feeling to see the candles lit with their names on them,” she adds. 

For Mary Smith, a widow for nearly 11 years, it is important to remember her husband, Robert, by placing his name on a candle. She also offers flowers in his name a few times a year in the sanctuary.    

Announcements for the All Souls’ votive candle reservations, $5 each, were placed in the October bulletins. The candles will burn for six days until they are rotated with new names to be memorialized. The name of a deceased loved one is printed on a sticker by Karen Palange, parish secretary.

Father Jacob points out that candles have been used in worship since the early centuries of the Church. This is evident in John 8:12, the priest says, when Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Lighting candles, Father Jacob adds, is one of the spiritual acts of mercy: praying for the living and the dead. “I have a votive candle in memory of my mother, Brijeet, who died in 2012,” he says. “I pray for my mother every day.”