What Is a Prayer Candle — and Why Are There Celebrities on Them?
If you grew up in a Mexican, Puerto Rican, Italian or Filipino household, you already know what a prayer candle is. There was one on the dresser, the kitchen counter, or the little shelf by the front door, and nobody was allowed to blow it out.
If you didn't, you have probably still seen them: tall glass cylinders, a saint on the front, sold in the same grocery aisle as the Jarritos. Lately you may also have seen one with LeBron James on it, in purple and gold robes, haloed, holding a basketball like a relic. This is the explanation for both.
What a prayer candle is
A prayer candle is a candle lit as part of a prayer. That's the whole definition. You light it for a specific intention: a sick parent, a job interview, a kid on a long drive, someone who died. It stays lit while you pray, or for days after, as the prayer continuing when you can't.
The tall glass version goes by a lot of names:
- Veladora or vela, in Spanish.
- Novena candle. A novena is nine days of prayer (from the Latin novem, nine), and the candle is lit across them.
- Seven-day candle, because the big ones burn for about a week.
- Votive candle, from the Latin votum, a vow. Strictly, a votive is the small cup-sized one you light at a church rack, but people use the word for all of them.
- Saint candle, because there's almost always a saint on the glass.
Who's usually on the glass
The image tells you what the candle is for. The most common, by far, is the Virgin of Guadalupe. After her come St. Jude, patron saint of lost causes and desperate situations; St. Anthony, for lost things; the Sacred Heart; and St. Michael, for protection. Many have a prayer printed on the back, so you can light it and read it without having to remember the words.
So the format works in a particular way: a person you look up to, painted larger than life, with light around them, and a flame you keep going in their honor. You can see where this is heading.
How celebrities ended up on them
Fans have been talking about their favorite people in religious terms for a long time. You worship a band. A singer is an icon, an athlete is an idol, and Beyoncé fans call each other the BeyHive and mean it the way other people mean "congregation." Every football fan you know has prayed, out loud, on a fourth down. The language was already there. The candle just made it literal.
A celebrity prayer candle takes the shape of the devotional candle and swaps in someone from pop culture. It's a joke about fandom: about how seriously we take the people we're fans of, and how close "I love Dolly Parton" is to an actual religion for some people. It is not a joke about faith. The candle works because the original tradition is serious and everyone recognizes it.
What ours look like
Ours are 8" glass candles, the same shape you'd find in a botánica. They're unscented and burn for 80+ hours. The artwork is done in a stained-glass style: a halo, light coming from behind, robes in the team's or the artist's colors, and whatever they would hold instead of a rosary. LeBron holds a basketball.
We don't put real saints on them, and they aren't blessed. They're for your shelf, not your altar. Some of the people who have one:
- Jennifer Coolidge, $16.95: patron saint of vacations that go badly.
- Tony Soprano, $16.95: patron saint of panic attacks and family businesses.
- Andy Reid, $16.95: patron saint of cheeseburgers and timeouts.
- Josh Allen, $16.95: for Bills fans, who already pray every January.
- Bad Bunny and Peso Pluma, from $16.95: for the house that already has a Guadalupe candle on the counter.
- Messi, $16.95: who is, according to most of Argentina, already a saint.
- Pedro Pascal, $14: patron saint of the internet's boyfriends.
Is it disrespectful?
That's a fair question, and people ask it before they buy, so here's the short answer. Prayer candles belong to a tradition that's centuries old and that millions of people still practice. We borrow its look because it's the most recognizable picture there is of "this person matters a lot to me." We don't copy the prayers or use the saints, and we don't sell these as devotional objects. If you would be uncomfortable seeing one next to your abuela's Guadalupe, don't buy one for her house. If the person you're buying for already calls someone their patron saint, they'll get it.
How to burn a prayer candle
The same rules apply to ours as to a church candle:
- Trim the wick to about ¼" before every light. A long wick smokes and blackens the glass.
- Burn it on a heat-safe surface, away from curtains, drafts, pets and kids. The glass gets hot.
- Never leave it burning unattended or overnight. The old seven-day tradition of keeping it lit for a week is one we'd skip.
- Let it burn at least an hour the first time, so the top layer of wax melts evenly instead of tunneling down the middle.
- Stop when there's about ½" of wax left. After that, the glass can get too hot.
Or don't light it at all. Plenty of people never do, because they don't want to burn LeBron's face off.
Find yours
Every candle we make is under $20, and free US shipping starts at $35. Shop by category:
- Football: Mahomes, Josh Allen, Saquon, Brady and about a dozen other quarterbacks.
- Basketball: LeBron, Steph Curry, Luka, the Celtics, and Jalen Brunson.
- Music: from Beyoncé and Taylor Swift to Peso Pluma.
- Actors: Pedro Pascal, Jennifer Coolidge, Tony Soprano and Jeremy Allen White.
- Soccer: Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
- Public figures: including Trisha Paytas.
- New arrivals, including Shohei Ohtani and Lewis Hamilton.
- Best sellers, if you just want to see what other people are buying.
Buying one as a gift? Our guides cover NFL fans, Swifties, and Secret Santa and White Elephant gifts under $20.
Our candles are parody and commentary. They are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any celebrity, team, or league pictured.
