York Minster to mark Holocaust Memorial Day with 600 candle display

The candles will be lit in the venue on January 25, to remember more than six million Jewish people and millions of other groups murdered in the Second World War and the millions who have died in the genocides that followed.

The Revd Canon Maggie McLean, Canon Missioner at York Minster, said: “The international theme for Holocaust Memorial Day 2023 is Ordinary People, which encourages people to reflect on the importance of those ordinary men and women, who find courage and humanity not to dehumanise other people and who offer small acts of kindness which might just be all it takes to give hope and offer a tiny glimmer of light in the darkest of moments."

The candles will be lit in the Minster on Wednesday January 25 (Image: York Minster)

The event at York Minster will begin with a Choral Evensong service at 5.30pm, which is attended by representatives from York’s Jewish community and other faith communities.

This will be followed by a procession to the cathedral’s Chapter House for the act of commemoration.

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The Minster’s act of commemoration is part of a week-long programme of events taking place across the city of York to mark Holocaust Memorial Day. The date marks the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.