Candles burn for Covid lives lost

Wednesday March 24th 2021

Candles burn in the Nave of St Anne’s Cathedral during a Service of Reflection on the anniversary of the national lockdown. The 2,016 candles represent lives lost to Covid-19 in Northern Ireland,

People from across Northern Ireland and beyond joined an online Service of Reflection live-streamed by Belfast Cathedral on March 23 – the anniversary of the first Covid-19 lockdown.

In the Nave, 2,107 candles laid out along the aisle burned brightly – one for each life with a Covid diagnosis lost in Northern Ireland.

The service, one of many held across the UK on the first anniversary of the national lockdown, was organised in response to a call by the charity Marie Curie for March 23 to be a National Day of Reflection, and as part of the cathedral’s Lives Reflected initiative.

Lives Reflected offers a National Online Book of Remembrance for all those who have died in the past 12 months, whether from Covid-19 or other causes, acknowledging that normal funeral arrangements and grieving processes have not been possible.

The Service of Choral Evensong led by the Dean of Belfast, the Very Rev Stephen Forde, featured settings by David Terry and Matthew Owens, and the anthem Pie Jesu from Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem. It was shared live via the Cathedral’s Facebook page.