Behind the Scenes: October 2022 Update
The five liturgical bells of the Immaculata were consecrated mid-last month and the cornerstone of the church ceremonially laid. In this update we are pleased to give you the highlights of that momentous day.
Transcript of the Video
“You see, God has created us for only one thing, and it is heaven.”
It seems that heaven wants to give its contribution to the baptism of the bells today!
The ceremony has three parts. The first, as it is a baptism, well any consecration starts with water, with holy water. So we will sprinkle the bells. And the second part will be the consecration itself with holy chrism. And once this is done we venerate the bells with incense. These are the three parts.
So what does the consecration do? The consecration has transformed these pieces of metal into what is called a sacramental. In fact we have two ceremonies. The one you have just seen belongs to the completion, to the perfection of the work. The second ceremony which we're going to begin now, deals with something absolutely essential because it deals with the beginning. It goes about the blessing of the cornerstone. Of course we are a little bit above time here, but we combine both ceremonies in one.
The church is insisting, saying that these bells will help the faithful in growing in the faith. So think of it, have great desires whenever you hear these bells. A great desire to grow in faith and this grace will be given to you! These bells, they are going to accompany us here on earth. They are going to accompany our life, our Christian life. And one of the most important things in this life is the Mass! So these bells will call the faithful, to come to Mass. They will even worship God, they will ring at the time of consecration. Telling everyone around, right now Our Lord is coming again in the host. Coming again in this world, visiting us and renewing His sacrifice for us….
The five Immaculata bells, crafted by the Paccard Foundry in Annecy, France were baptized with the names:
Maria Immaculata: this is the main bell of the church and weighs 7,716 lbs
Sts. Benedict and Scholastica: who are the patrons against wicked spirits and against storms
St. John the Baptist: which will be used for calling the faithful to Mass
St. Gabriel: will be used for the Angelus
St. Lazarus: will be used as the death knell
More about the bells can be found on our website here.
