Contrary to what was once Grotto policy, the praying cave can take only so many candles at a time. The amount is approximately 3,500, which is the capacity of the seven iron racks that hold the glass jar-style candles -- 1,159 total spaces -- plus the capacity of the slide-out auxiliary trays under the racks that were installed two years ago (they can hold about 2,200 jar candles), plus the capacity of the two large wagon-wheel-like candle stands. Each of those can hold exactly 100 of the smaller, conventional candle sticks.
The limit on how many candles are allowed to be kept lit in the Grotto has been in place since some time after a fire broke out in September 1985. It happened during the weekend of a night home game against Michigan, when visitors to campus had all day to visit the Grotto. During early morning hours, an overabundance of flickering faith ignited the plastic candle jars that were then in use, and the flames spread to the ivy hanging down from the rocks (regular pruning aims to prevent that from happening again).
Demand for candles at the Grotto is widely believed to be heaviest during finals week, when miracles are understandably in high demand. In truth, finals week doesn't hold a candle to the volume during home football weekends, says John R. Zack, assistant university sacristan. Zack says it hasn't been necessary so far to invoke the candle limit at the Grotto, but that could change in the 1997 season with 20,000 seats added to the Notre Dame football stadium.
Last year an estimated 100,000 jar-style and 76,000 stick candles were lit at the Grotto.
-- by Maureen Hurley and Ed Cohen