All Saints Day in France is the day when folk from all over remember their departed loved ones and visit their graves, even though they may have to travel some distance.
The tradition in Paimpont Abbey is that, after the Mass to celebrate All Saints, we have a time of prayer for those who have left us in the previous year. Each of the departed are named and as they are named, we light a votive candle for each one which is then placed on a cross and left for the rest of the day. We then process to the cemetery where each grave is blessed with holy water.
I photographed this after the service - the chancel is left unlit so that the lit cross dominates - the background appears much lighter in this image than it was in reality.
