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Journal North: Home | Sports | Opinion | Obits | Entertainment
Monday, June 01, 2009
Bells Will Toll Once Again at Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis
By Phil Parker
Journal Staff Writer
Hundreds gathered outside the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis on Sunday afternoon to watch Archbishop Michael Sheehan bless and baptize the church's four newest members: bells that will be placed in the cathedral's south tower.
Donors stood by the bells as they were baptized, as they would for a child.
The church's director of finance and administration, Jim Cutropia, said the event has been two years in the making, since Sheehan asked the parish of the cathedral to leave a gift in commemoration of the Cuarto Centenario, the 400th anniversary celebration, set to begin this year, of the Spanish settlement of Santa Fe.
Each bell is meant to signify 100 years in the history of the church, the country's oldest to still be operating.
The cathedral's south tower hasn't held bells in more than 100 years, so the parish ordered four new bells cast.
There are four bells in the north tower, but they don't ring often. The periodic bell tones that have emanated from the church of late are simulated and come from speakers.
"They make a lot of noise," Cutropia said of the north-tower bells. "These (new bells) make music. They're beautiful."
Another ceremony is set for Sunday afternoon, when the new bells will sound for the first time.
They traveled together by ship from Holland, where they were created by a Dutch bell maker. They're composed of copper and black tin. Each has its own name and sounds a particular note when struck. Church bells are traditionally named after a female saint. Three of the bells were named by their donors; the fourth, sponsored by the Friends of the Cathedral Basilica through donations, was named for St. Katharine Drexel, who worshipped at the cathedral and established the St. Katherine Indian School in 1887 near Rosario Cemetery.
Installation starts today and should take about four days, Cutropia said.
A bell breakdown
Bell No. 4
Name: Dee Theresa
Weight: 550 pounds
Note: C
Inscription: "By the Mike Maloof Family on the occasion of the parish's 400th anniversary."
Bell No. 3
Name: Sofia Libradita
Weight: 825 pounds
Note: A-sharp
Inscription: "In Memory of Natividad Quintana Chidester on the occasion of the parish's 400th anniversary."
Bell No. 2
Name: Mercedes
Weight: 1,177 pounds
Note: G-sharp
Inscription: "By the George T. Roybal family on the occasion of the parish's 400th anniversary."
Bell No. 1
Name: St. Katharine Drexel, S.B.S. (Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament)
Weight: 2,728 pounds
Note: D-sharp
Inscription: "A gift from the Friends of the Cathedral Basilica on the occasion of the parish's 400th anniversary."
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