Live Simply
St Killian Candle System
Our original candle system had been used in the church for decades. Small votive candles in aluminium containers were place in a metal stand. The candle was lit and left to extinguish or blown out at the end of Mass due to safety concerns. Upon extinguishing the metal containers, which were not renewable, were disposed of along with household waste and sent to landfill. The burning candle always had the danger of fire in the church and was a constant source of worry to the parish priest.
Original Candle Stand
In August 2023 the parish moved from a votive system to the Saint Killian Candle System, which is a safe and eco-friendly method for burning candles in a church. It features a glass system that allows candles to burn without emitting smoke or soot, making it suitable for interior spaces. The system is designed to be self-extinguishing with the wax falling into a water tray after burning, ensuring no residue remains. The three-piece glass system consists of a coloured glass that is secured to a stand, a middle glass that acts as a barrier to protect the colour from excess wax, and an inner glass that holds the candle. The coloured glass comes in three colours:
Gold – Divine Light of Christ
Red – The Sacred Heart
Blue – Blessed Virgin Mary
The Lady Chapel
As the candle system was to be housed in a small chapel dedicated to Our Lady, we choose the blue coloured glass.
The candle sits inside the inner glass. The flame is then isolated within secured glass to eliminate the fear of a candle falling over. After burning for 60 to 90 minutes the candle is completely liquid and falls through the hole at the end of the inner glass, extinguishing itself on the way down falling into a water bath to completely guarantee quenching.
Saint Killians candles are made with three times refined paraffin and therefore they do not emit any soot or smoke. The self-extinguishing element to this candle eliminated the need to extinguish the candles at the end of the day or at the end of Mass. Every candle is lit with an intention hence the self-extinguishing allows every intention to burn for its special reason without any interruption due to fear of fire safety.
The system is environmentally friendly. The candle itself uses no plastic/metal cups, helping the environment reduce its plastic consumption one candle at a time. It is self-contained and burns within a glass. The wax is removed from the water bath several times each week and recycled by returning to St Killian and used to produce another batch of candles.
By moving from votive candles to Saint Killian candles Saint George’s Parish has answered the call to care for our common home by choosing a safer and more eco-friendly candle burning system.
