Great turnout for the candlelit memorial in the Stadtwald

Around 300 residents gathered in Bocholt's Stadtwald on Sunday, 1 November, to remember their loved ones who have passed away. At the former Flamingo Pond, they placed small lights on the water. The town of Bocholt intends to continue this candlelit memorial next year.

From 4.30 pm, participants gathered at the former Flamingo Pond opposite the goat enclosure. Each light they placed on the water represented a person who had left their mark on the lives of family and friends. Short reflections, soft music and moments of silence accompanied the commemoration. Alongside the shared remembrance, there was space for personal thoughts.

The candlelit memorial was initiated by Dr Benedikt Matenaer, a palliative care specialist from Bocholt. He had brought the idea back with him from Amsterdam. Together with Deputy Mayor Björn Volmering and the Bocholt-Rhede-Isselburg Adult Education Centre, he organised the candlelit event. Matenaer is a specialist in anaesthesia and pain management, specialising in cancer-related pain. He works in the palliative care unit at St Agnes Hospital and heads up outpatient palliative care in Bocholt - two areas he has played a key role in establishing. In the run-up to the event, he had emphasised that grief needs space and that memories need a place where they are allowed to exist. Lighting a candle, he said, is a simple yet deeply personal expression of love, gratitude and solidarity. Through this event, he wanted to create a safe space where people could pause and remember together.

"The fact that around 300 people came to the Stadtwald on a Sunday afternoon shows just how great the desire is for a shared space for mourning and remembrance", says Deputy Mayor Björn Volmering. "My special thanks go to Dr Benedikt Matenaer, who brought this idea to Bocholt and put it into practice with great personal commitment. We would very much like to continue the candlelit memorial in the years to come. Given the enthusiastic response, we will work with our partners to assess whether another, larger venue might be more suitable."

The event was supported by the Friends' Association of the Palliative Care Unit at St Agnes Hospital, Bocholt. The partners were thus building on their collaboration from the previous year: in November 2025, the Adult Education Centre (VHS) had brought together numerous people grappling with grief and death through its series of events "Between New Beginnings and Farewells".

The Friends' Association supports inpatient and outpatient palliative care in the Bocholt region, for example by making purchases for the palliative care unit or funding further training. Anyone wishing to support the association's work with a donation can find all the relevant information at www.palliativ-bocholt.de.