How the churches’ sanctuary offer shone a light on the detention centre regime, turning the tide for people seeking safety

“While preparing for the hastily organised sanctuary liturgy all those years ago, I vividly remember looking for vigil candles. As I picked up a box of 100 candles in the storage room, I looked at them hoping that enough people would turn up to light them all. Later that day, as more and more people arrived at the vigil, I had to keep bringing additional candles out from storage for people to light. In the end, 1,500 people turned up. I have never been happier to be 500 short of anything in my life,” says The Very Rev’d Dr Peter Catt