Q: Thank you for your blog. My question concerns the placement of the Paschal Candle. We had a funeral earlier today, a full-body burial, and the Paschal Candle was placed at the head of the coffin directly at its center in front of the altar. While standing at the back of the church, my attention (line-of-sight) seemed to be drawn not to the altar or where the priest would stand during the liturgy, but to the candle.  Do you have any thoughts on this? 

As mentioned in this blog on previous occasions, our focus during the Eucharist Liturgy should be the altar, which should not be obstructed by anything. Am I right about this?

Thank you again, and God bless you!

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A: OCF 162 says, “The paschal candle may be placed beforehand near the position the coffin will occupy at the conclusion of the procession.”

This allows some flexibility if a central placement obstructs the people’s view of the altar.