Sanctuary Lamps

The church sanctuary lamps from churchproducts.com make a beautiful addition to your sanctuary or chapel. Sanctuary lamps signify the presence of Christ, via the consecrated bread (Eucharist) in the tabernacle. If you walk in to a Catholic church and see a lit candle in a red globe (sometimes clear globe) situated near the tabernacle, this signifies that Christ is present (i.e. there is consecrated bread) in the tabernacle. You should almost always see this 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in any Catholic church in the world, with the exception of Good Friday, when the eucharist is removed until the Easter vigil. Certain unusual circumstances may also dictate that the Eucharist is not present in the tabernacle, such as: emergency situations, Adoration in another part of the church, church construction or renovation, etc. but these are the exception and not the norm.)

The sanctuary lamp is the metal fixture which holds the red globe. Inside the red globe you will find the sanctuary candle, either in glass, plastic or as an oil-filled candle shell. The lamps can be free-standing, wall mounted or may have a base to sit on a table or ledge. The lamp is usually made of brass or bronze and since it is not in contact with the Holy Eucharist, does not need to be 24k gold plated, although it may be gold plated.