Bells came into use in churches as early as the year 400, and their introduction is ascribed to Paulinus, bishop of Nola, a town of Campania, in Italy. Their use spread rapidly, as in those unsettled times the church-bell was useful not only for summoning the faithful to religious services, but also for giving an alarm when danger threatened. Their use was sanctioned in 604 by Pope Sabinian, and a ceremony for blessing them was established a little later. Very large bells, for church towers, were probably not in common use until the eleventh century.
In continuity with this ancient Italian tradition our parish has dedicated itself to completing the church with the installation of 4 bells that we have recently acquired from a church that has closed in Gatineau. We can not use our existing steeple since it is not capable of supporting the 2,500 Kg bell. The project of designing a new bell tower was entrusted to the architect Angelo Mattia Spadola.
He has designed an imposing free-standing structure, elegant in its simplicity, in keeping with the original design of the church.
|