Candles: coming home

When we approach the serene quiet room (Dutch: stilteruimte), our eyes immediately fall on two racks full of votive candles. Prayer candles take up a central role within this room, but also illustrate the inception of this place of tranquility. The initiators, the couple Truus and Kees, got the idea when they were on pilgrimage: “In every church we visited, we would light a candle”, which felt like “coming home”. When they returned home to Leiden, they longed for a similar peaceful place.

Community members and passers-by have, according to the initiators, lit these votive candles to commemorate loved ones who passed away or to find solace and support during difficult times. Although in the past the practice was often associated with Roman Catholic churches, members of Protestant communities have now embraced this ritual as well. People from all walks of life, believers and non-believer, come to light a candle.