April 13, 2023 at 1:00 a.m.
THE LIGHT OF CHRIST
Rich Nagengast has Easter candles on his mind.
Every spring, a few weeks before Holy Week starts, Nagengast heads to his dining room table in Albany and lays out his working materials. His red-picnic blanket tablecloth holds a mix of colorful wax sheets, a small knife, and most important of all, a blank, four-foot-tall Paschal candle.
A sexton and head of maintenance for St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Albany, Nagengast has been designing and creating the Paschal candle used by St. Vincent’s for 30 years, marking the milestone this Easter. Nagengast comes up with the design and layout on his own — no two candles are ever the same — and puts everything together by hand using sheet wax ordered from Germany.
“I consider it to be a ministry,” Nagengast told The Evangelist. “It’s part of my faith so I take it pretty seriously.”
Rich Nagengast displays his latest Paschal candle for St. Vincent's Church.This year’s 2023 Paschal candle was blessed and lit at St. Vincent’s Easter Vigil on April 8. The candle will be used throughout the Paschal season, from the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday Night through Pentecost, and then again on special occasions held at the parish during the year, such as funerals and baptisms.
A Paschal candle is standard in Catholic churches, though many typically order them online through religious sites with pre-made designs. Nagengast orders a blank white candle from Marklin Candle Design, a candle company based in New Hampshire, and creates a new design unveiled each Easter.
The Paschal candle is used as a symbol of the light of Christ. According to the Catholic News Agency, “The pure beeswax of which the candle is made represents the sinless Christ who was formed in the womb of His Mother. The wick signifies His humanity, the flame, His Divine Nature, both soul and body.” While the design varies, the candle's main components are always the same: a cross, the Greek letters Alpha and Omega, which symbolize that God is the beginning and the end, and the year the candle is being used, symbolizing that God is present amidst the current congregation. The cross also holds five wax nails as a symbol of the five wounds inflicted on Jesus: his hands, feet, side and the thorns that crowned his head.
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Nagengast works on his Paschal candle designs at his home in Albany.Nagengast typically starts with the cross and works his way out, filling in the candle as he goes. The design work takes about 8-to-10 hours to complete, usually done across a couple of days. After 30 years, he has an idea of how low the candle burns each cycle and where each of the elements should be placed, but still, every year is something different.
“It truly is the Holy Spirit,” Nagengast said of his inspiration. “I believe that it’s definitely God’s hand directing me because all of a sudden I know what to do. And that doesn’t mean to say as I’m going through the process I’ll cut something out and say ‘I don’t like how that works,’ or I’ll want to delete this or change a color, that’s the way the process goes and next thing you know that’s what you have.”
Nagengast is no stranger to St. Vincent’s; he’s been a parishioner since he was 7 years old, along with his parents and 10 siblings. The Nagengast family joined the parish in 1956 when Rich enrolled in the Vincentian Institute, the parochial school then operated by St. Vincent de Paul. They were regulars at Mass, and years later, that faith is still present in Nagengast.
“I’ve had some rough times but I never wandered too far, I always stayed with it,” he said. “My faith has gotten me through the rough spots in my life, and it’s always nice to have someone to lean on. I can always lean on Christ, and I can always lean on God the Father or St. Joseph. My middle name is Joseph and I consider him to be my patron saint.”
Nagengast's past candles from 2017-2022.He went on to obtain a certification in HVAC from Hudson Valley Community College, working in the field for just under 10 years. In 1989, Nagengast was approached about working full-time in maintenance for St. Vincent’s. He’s been with the parish ever since.
“It’s my home parish, and I’ve had a steady connection with it since age 7,” he said. “It’s been quite a journey.”
Outside of the parish, Nagengast can be found working on various home projects. He crafted a mantle above his fireplace from wood and is working on building a dollhouse fashioned after a brownstone in downtown Albany. Nagengast calls it “another facet of my ministry.”
“I consider all these things to be a ministry,” he said. “It truly is.”
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