HomeMy WebLinkAboutSLOJX Mission Bells 1
MISSION BELLS
Heard a new sound from Downtown recently? Have you been in the Plaza at noon to hear
the Mission bells ring sacred patterns that are hundreds of years old? The bells of Mission
San Luis Obispo are installed and in working order. If you haven’t experienced the new
bells, don’t panic…they are guaranteed for 200 years!
Cast in Holland by the prestigious firm of Petit and Frisen (founded in the 17th century),
the bronze bells fill all five niches in the bell loft for the first time since the mid-1870s.
Named after the first five missions, the largest (748 pounds) is Diego followed by Carlos
(429 pounds), then Antonio (297 pounds) and Gabriel (224 pounds). Last, but certainly
not least, is Luis weighing a mere 158 pounds. A sixth bell found in the Garden is named
Ave Virgo Maria (Blessed Virgin Mary).
The decision to purchase permitted the preservation of the three old bells as well as a
return to the ringing of five bells. While the sound is different from the old ones as each
bell has its own pitch, the effort to ring five, rather than three, bells will require strength
and practice.
The bells received an official welcome on April 30 when Bishop Sylvester D. Ryan of the
Diocese of Monterey blessed the five in a solemn ceremony held in the Mission Gardens.
For her weekly program, Picture the Past, Joan Sullivan captured the arrival, unloading,
testing, installation and blessing of the bells. Maino Construction and Dewaine’s Crane
Service donated their time for the bell placements. It was an unusual sight to watch the
crane crawl up the front steps to deliver the bells. Additionally, the careful removal of the
old bells was recorded for posterity. The program is the only recorded documentation of
the historic event other than photographs. What she was unable to record were the two
years devoted to seeking, drawing specifications, and ordering the bell by a conscientious
bell committee composed of parish members. Additional funds were donated to provide
for plaques…the most visible placed near the entrance to the church.
To ring the new bells as well as practice the additional patterns available with more bells,
a cadre of bell ringers has been practicing the intricate ringing procedures which take
both patience and strength…plenty of it. Various pulls have been used over the years
while the current ones are straps with webbing for ease of wrapping around the bell
ringer hands. The five are held by the bell ringer…three in one hand and two in the
other… and pulled in a sequence to produce the sound of the prescribed pattern. The
strength of each pull creates the volume.
Begun by Florentino Najer, the earliest known bell ringer, and continued by the
legendary Gregario Silverio, the two men rang the old Mission bells for a combined total
of over 100 years. Before he died in 1954, Silverio taught the ancient art to his
granddaughter who tolled the somber funeral sequences for her grandfather’s last Mass.
A few other bell ringers have followed Silverio.
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Currently there are men and women who practice the ringing. Each member of the Guild
provides a different…sometimes very slight…tone depending on the skill and dexterity
of the ringer. The bells are regularly rung before each Mass on Saturday afternoon and
Sunday.
While today’s bells are used primarily for Masses, the padres used bells in a variety of
ways. Bells announced the start of a new day as well as its end and to call the neophytes
to assemble for meals, instruction, or religious requirements. Bells greeted an important
visitor as well as noting their departure. A funeral or fire was made known by different
rings. Imagine how far the bells would be heard without the noise and obstructions of
vehicles and buildings!
The earliest sketches of Mission San Luis (1850) depict the bell loft with the five arched
openings over the entrance. The original has been replaced with the current one being
built in 1936. Indeed, the combination portico and bell loft is unique among the 21
missions. It is neither a campanile (a separate building) nor a campanario (a wall with
bell openings).
The old bells have not been forgotten. Today they are displayed in a specially designed
monument by Bob Vessely and Pierre Rademaker in the Mission Garden. For the first
time, most of us will be able to see these reminders of the past up close as the bell loft is
off-limits to all but the bell ringers. The old bells – two date from 1818 – may still be
rung for special occasions. The monument is a gift from Maino Construction in memory
of Mike Maino.
At a cost of $55,000. raised by donations, expenses were reduced by the gifts of engineer
Robert Vessely’s structural analysis of the bell loft, Pierre Rademaker’s design of the
monument, DeWaine’s Crane Service, and Thoma Electrical that provided illumination
for the Garden bell monument as well as planned exterior lighting for the bell loft.
More information? slodocent@yahoo.com
Thanks to bell ringer and historian Matthew Herrera for his assistance.