Church Bells of Holy Family Catholic Parish in Saginaw, Michigan USA

[fireblaze82]

Are they rang manually[by pulling a rope]or its electric [automatic]?

[lamyar1990]

Wow the bells are HUGE!!!

[frsdonahue]

How lucky you are your bells still swing. Many in my city have had their clappers removed and replaced by a cable, and the wheel made stationary. Then the bells are tapped to simulate swinging bells. A certain bell foundry goes around to the different pastors and tells them the bells are dangerous and may fall. Ignorant pastors then buy the new machinery, which is garbage. The bells sound so dead and can barely be heard a block away.

[Audinos]

@frsdonahue This is true. These companies insist that their stationary strikers simulate the sound of a swinging bell by alternating hard and soft strikes, but nothing compares with a swinging bell. A stationary bell produces approximately half the sound output as a swinging one, and most striking peals sound dull and mechanical. Finance councils rarely know what bells should sound like, so they'll buy a striker or, worse, an electronic system, thinking that no one will know the difference.

[frsdonahue]

@Audinos Thanks, and all so true. 3/4 of the many peals in this city, some going back to the 19th century, have been ruined by thes idiots. The latest is a 5 bell peal, cast here in this city, with a 4300-pound tenor. They also sounded the 1/2 and hour strike, until one person complained. That stopped. Then the Mc----- Bell Foundry came in and convinced the powers that be that the bells, if kept swinging, would endanger the tower, and possibly fall. Now they tap out theior dead little peal. Sad/

[Audinos]

@frsdonahue One of the ugliest peals I've ever heard was at a certain Oregon monastery. I had assumed that the monks, in their poverty, had assembled a collection of four iron farm bells that roughly sounded the notes C-F-G-A. Then, I went into the tower and discovered that they were bronze bells from the Mc - Foundry, which had already been returned to the foundry once before. They were totally untuned and sounded like the brass bells found in Mexico. Fortunately, the bells still swing.

[fireblaze82]

@frsdonahue That is true.Many bells rung by hammer that rings by itself.It sounds horrible.you are right.My parish has a bell that swings and thank god they won't change it.God bless you for bringing this up.

[lmitlyng]

God Bless our Beautiful Church in the Grove! My husband and I were married there in 2006. The ceremony was at 11am and right when Fr. Taylor introduced us as Mr. and Mrs., the bells went off for noon. It was THE awesomest moment. Everyone had the "Oh WOW" looks on their faces. PRICELESS. May they ring for 100 more years!

[sanctus100]

it´s so beautiful to listen to these "real" church bells! I don´t like listen to Computers ;-)

[Engerlingraucher]

It looks like that the bells cast by Petit & Fritsen (Aarle-Rixtel, NL).

[Auferstehungsglocke]

Very nice bells!

[Audinos]

It is wonderful to hear real bells in American churches instead of electronic ones. These would sound even nicer if they started sequentially, with the small one starting first and the next largest a few seconds later and so forth.

[JesusFocused]

Why Church bells? If they were properly blessed by the bishop, according to Wikipedia, then the oil of the infirm was applied on the outside of the bell and chrism on the inside, and a fuming censer was placed under it, and the bishop prayed "that these sacramentals of the Church may, at the sound of the bell, put the demons to flight, protect from storms, and call the faithful to prayer." See "Church Bell" in Wikipedia.