Last week we began to look at some of the improvements that have been made to the cathedral interior over recent months as the work of restoring the glory of our mother church continues.
This week we’d like to tell you about the new St Killians Candle Burning System that has been installed around the cathedral.
The St Killians system is advertised as ‘the safest, cleanest, smokeless Candle Burning System in the world’ and as we look to improve the ways in which we can care for our common home, this system seems perfectly suited to the requirements of the cathedral. New votive stands have been installed under each of our statues and each stand can hold 58 votive candles.
Each glass votive holder is made up of three pieces, the coloured outer piece is secured into the votive stand, the middle piece protects the outer coloured glass from excess wax and the third piece holds the votive candle.
The candles themselves are made from 3 times refined paraffin and do not emit any smoke or soot which is important in protecting the cathedral’s interior and artefacts.
Once the candle is lit it will burn for 60-90 minutes at which point it will be completely liquid. It will then fall through a hole in the bottom of the votive holder and into a water bath and so is very safe.
These new candles do not have a plastic or metal holder like most other votive candles and so they are extremely environmentally friendly and save lots of plastic from landfill.
The system is already in place in several cathedrals around the country including Westminster, Birmingham and Clifton and as we continue to improve our mother church for parishioners and visitors alike we hope that you will agree that this new system is a good addition to the cathedral interior.
