THE BELLS OF ST. MICHAEL
Background
Bells used for religious purposes can be traced back to the ancient Egyptians. In Christian worship, small bells were first used in Italy in the early 5th century and Pope Sabinian approved them for universal use in 604. Large bells in church towers did not make their appearance until the 11th century. Church bells have been used for many purposes as described below, but at St. Michael we use the bells primarily for the first three.
- Calling the faithful to worship or to prayer.
- Serving as a musical instrument to play appropriate hymns.
- Notifying the community of an important occasion (e.g., a wedding, death, funeral etc.).
- Announcing the time of day.
- Sounding an alarm in time of danger or emergency.
Our Bell System
Actually, we have no bells! As you might suspect in this modern era, all the bell sounds from real bells are recorded on CDs that are played by a special disk player located in the church sacristy. The electronic signals are then sent to the church belfry and broadcast through loudspeakers for all to hear. The disk player keeps tract of the date, time and liturgical season and will ring the appropriate “bells” at the times that we program into the system. During Easter, Christmas and at other times, we can change when and what the bells ring to correspond with our changing liturgical needs.
When and Why the Bells Ring (or don’t).
Out of concern for the nearby community, we normally never ring the bells before 7:45 a.m. nor after 9:00 p.m. (except at Christmastime and Eastertime). Also liturgically, no bells of any kind are rung after the prayer “Glory to God” recited at the Holy Thursday Mass of the Last Supper until the start of the “Glory to God” at the first Mass of Easter (Holy Saturday evening). The bells inside church are not used either during this period.
The Mass Call: This call is rung 15 min. before every scheduled Mass begins as a reminder that a Mass is to start shortly. The 836 lb. bell (in A#) swings for one minute.
The Toll Bell: This bell is used at funerals or to announce someone’s death. The bell tolls continuously for 3 minutes.
Concert of Hymns: Concerts are played daily at 12:15 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. (the evening concert is at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday). Usually two hymns are played that are selected randomly by the program and which are appropriate for the liturgical season of the year. On every Sunday evening we add a third hymn, the Salve Regina (Hail! Holy Queen). which is the traditional hymn used at the conclusion of vespers (evening prayer) for most of the year. This hymn and its melody are known and sung throughout the Catholic world. Listen for it!
Special Hymns: Wedding and patriotic songs are also in the repertory when needed.
The Peal: For joyous occasions, four bells (tuned to the key of C major), swing for three minutes.
The Angelus Call: This call is rung daily at 8 a.m., noon, and 6 p.m. It is a reminder of the need for daily prayer, usually through the use of the Angelus The call consists of three slow strikes of a single bell, repeated two more times for a total of nine strikes. The 1408 lb. bell (in G) swings for one minute.
Please email the webmaster with any updates on links. Thank you.