Catholic church in tv and movie

[Deleted]

I often see someone go into a church to pray when troubled while watching tv.  Are Catholic churches open like that and is that something people do?   It is not that way in Baptist churches.  And please explain lighting candles.   Do people go into churches and do that like on tv?  Does the priest always stay there or someone else always there?

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

Not all Catholic churches are open every day so people can walk in to pray/light a candle.

It depends where you are - in Europe (Italy/Rome), you might see more churches open and people going in/out.

As for the candles, I'm not Catholic, but my DH was. Many people will go up to the front to light a candle before, during, or after mass.

This might help explain the lighting of candles by parishioners better than I could:

acatholiclife.blogspot.ca/2006/03/why-do-catholics-light-prayer-candles.html

[Artemis Windsong]

Many candles can be lit from one candle without diminishing any.

[swamp]

Yes, and yes. 

You light a candle as sort of a prayer offering. 

The he priest is not always there. 

Because of vandalism, the churches are now usually locked at night. 

[mroped]

In the Orthodox Church, you light a candle with a prayer for the soles of the departed or for those that you love. The candle is "so they may have light in the afterlife" or for those that are still around as to be "the guiding light"
At funerals or at certain holidays like Easter, Ascension(40 days after Easter) some older people, typically women, would sit on the side of the road or around the cemetery's were their loved ones are buried, and ofer to the passers by a lit candle and bread or cookies.
Most people take that as not to offend but there are those that have no heart and turn it down

[simser]

Jul 18, 2015 18:02:28 GMT -5 @hickle said:

I often see someone go into a church to pray when troubled while watching tv.  Are Catholic churches open like that and is that something people do?   It is not that way in Baptist churches.  And please explain lighting candles.   Do people go into churches and do that like on tv?  Does the priest always stay there or someone else always there?

The small chapel that is usually open for the majority of the day usually contains the tabernacle (in every suburban Catholic Church I've attended) so you go and pray with Jesus (tabernacle contains consecrated host). So that's why people go to church to pray. And that's where the candles are. It's a comforting thing to light candles (I will go there if someone I know died or is quite sick in the hospital. It gives me peace).