April 11, 2020

Local priest shares sacred symbols of Easter through creation of Paschal candles

REGIONAL
By Sharon Roulier

 

WEST SPRINGFIELD — The disappointment of not being able to celebrate Easter Mass in churches across the country this year might be most strongly felt by the thousands who planned to join the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil.

The vigil Mass — which starts in darkness and is brightened by an outdoor flame that spreads to the Paschal candle and individual candles — is rich in liturgical symbols about darkness and light, doubt and faith, old life and new.

“The Paschal candle is a symbol of the Light of Christ in our world that had been darkened by sin,” said Father Jack Sheaffer, pastor of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in West Springfield.

For the last three years, Father Sheaffer has been constructing handmade Paschal candles for use in parishes throughout the Diocese of Springfield.

 Every year, during the Easter Vigil, a new Paschal candle is blessed and lit. After Easter, the special candle is used at every Mass up to Pentecost to symbolize the presence of the risen Christ on earth following his resurrection and the days from his ascension until the descent of the Holy Spirit. It is also used throughout the year at baptisms and funerals.

Father Sheaffer said he enjoys working with his hands and creating things and became interested in candle making through Father Timothy Campoli, pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Greenfield, who had been making the candles for years.

“Two years ago, we made them together and last year I began making them by myself,” said Father Sheaffer.

The Catholic Church does not require any specifications in terms of height or diameter for Paschal candles, but the candles typically are larger than any other in the sanctuary. Father Sheaffer has made candles from 3.5 to 5 feet tall with a diameter of 3 inches.

Father Sheaffer begins his production with recycling the wax from old altar candles. The Paschal candle, like most altar candles is composed of at least 51 percent beeswax.

“The candles I make tend to be higher than that because, in addition to recycling old altar candles, I have added some pure beeswax into the melted wax,” he said.

 

In the basement of St. Thomas the Apostle Rectory, the priest melts the wax in three large pots that sit atop burners fashioned out of automobile wheels and hotplates. And the candles, which include a special wick made by a woman in Florida, are formed in long copper pipes lined with Teflon.

“I transfer the melted wax using various pitchers and a funnel,” he said. He uses about 1.3 gallons of wax for the 3.5 foot candle and 1.75 gallons for the 5 foot candle.

Other tools and materials include window putty, duct tape, steel wool, screwdrivers, spray silicone, a plunger of sorts with steel wool that cleans each pipe and a drill.

Once the candles are hardened and removed from the molds, Father Sheaffer adds decals of a cross, the Alpha and Omega, and the year, 2020. The decorations were designed by Father Campoli and a friend and are custom-made each year by Bruce Socha of Socha Signs in Chicopee.

He then drills five holes into which he inserts a small grain of incense.

The cross is the central symbol. The Greek letters Alpha and Omega signify that God is the beginning and the end (form Book of Revelation), the current year represents God present in the congregation that year. The five grains of incense are embedded in the candle during the Easter vigil to represent the five wounds of Jesus: the three nails that pierced his hands and feet, the spear thrust into his side, and the thorns with which his head was crowned.

“Each parish that uses these candles has five hand-wrought iron spikes that they use on their candle,” he said.

Father Sheaffer said that creating Paschal candles is a rewarding hobby.

“I love working with my hands and creating things,” he said. “To be able to use that enjoyment to make something that is such an important symbol of the Triduum, the most sacred days of the liturgical year, is very satisfying, as well as knowing that it is used in other important moments in the faith lives of the people. Namely, the celebration of Mass throughout the Easter Season and at baptisms and funerals.”

He acknowledged that this Easter vigil will certainly be very different from any other.

“Some of the priests will be recording or live streaming the Easter vigil; some will be doing a private Easter vigil,” he said.

Material from Catholic News Service was used in this report.

Following are more photos of Father Sheaffer’s candle making process: