The Candle demonstration in Bratislava of March 25, 1988 went down in history as one of the most significant public manifestations of resistance to the communist regime in the former Czechoslovakia. The gathering was a harbinger of the gentle revolution of November 17, 1989, which led to the fall of forty years of totalitarianism and the rise of democracy. The demonstration for religious freedom and human rights was organized two decades ago by people from the secret Catholic communities persecuted by the authorities at the time. They demanded the appointment of Catholic bishops for vacant Slovak dioceses, complete religious freedom and also the observance of human rights. As a result, the originally religious event acquired a broader civic dimension.

The story of the friendship between Silvester Krčméry and Vladimír Jukl, who were called "generals of the secret church" and played an important role in the fight against totalitarianism in Czechoslovakia. They were already critical of the Slovak State and participated in the Slovak National Uprising. After the arrival of communism, they were persecuted and spent many years in prison. Nevertheless, after their release, they continued their activities. They founded "circles," small islands of freedom where people could think and believe freely. They distributed literature banned by the regime, published samizdat, organized signature campaigns, pilgrimages, and rallies. The culmination of their efforts was the Candlelight Demonstration, in which thousands of people participated and peacefully protested against the communist regime. The whole world learned about their actions. It wasn't long before their movement became actively involved in the Velvet Revolution.