"Lighting the Way" Commemorates Hospice Patients

November 24, 2000. Meriden, Connecticut.

At an evening ceremony on the campus of the Franciscan Life Center, Meriden, Franciscan Hospice Care staff members lit eight Christmas trees to commemorate hospice patients and loved ones who have died. The "Lighting the Way" program began last year with one contributor and one tree. This year over 80 persons requested lights in honor of their deceased loved ones. The eight trees are visible along Finch Avenue. A ninth tree with blue and white lights, Southington High School's team colors, is in honor of Matt Henne, a member of the school's football team who died last year. Matt had helped plant trees on the Franciscan Life Center campus with his teammates.

"Lighting the Way" trees will be lit each evening from the first Sunday of Advent to the Feast of the Epiphany in January. Proceeds of the program benefit Franciscan Hospice Care.