Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-09-23
FACTS AND TRADITIONS
CONCERNING BELLS

TF the church bells of Washington are
silenced by the District Commissioners
our city fathers. it is declared, will
n have ended custom established by
the Almighty For 1t was He who COM
manded Moses to place golden bells On the
hem of Aaron's priestly garment, that the
sound may be heard when he goeth in and
cometh out of the sanctuary, in the sight of
the Lord Enthusiastically considered, the
only difference between the bells of Exodus
and of 1906 lies in the size and location.
The principle is regarded as the same.
The critic has different point of view.
He considers church bells nuisance in
these days of clocks and watches, and he
reminds the District Commiss. oners that it
is their duty to see that nuisances are
abolished.
A prominent citizen who is neither church
man nor critic figures out the situation this
way:
There will be, say. 5000 men and women
who either love church bells or defer good
naturally to those who do. Then come
along some who raise objection. In my
half-century of recollection similar ohjec-
tons have broken out periodically, but the
bells have kept on ringing. The only way
to settle the matter is through the census
A well-known clergyman. on the other
hand, declares himself in sympathy with
bells that ring out daily, and especially in
the early mornings when people want to
sleep. The bells of his church are seldom
heard except on Sundays
There are so many churches OF all de-
nominations in Washington that an English
man, innocent of Brooklyn's claim. d, on
a recent visit here. that he should always
remember the national capital as city Of
spires. There is usually but a single bell in
each Of these spires, the signal exceptions
being, of course. the Metropolitan NJ. E.
Church, which has eleven. and st. Aloysius
Catholic Church. which has four
The installation of the Metropolitan
Church chimes, over thirty years ago,
created interest that overlooked the
boundaries of the congregation and be-
came matter of general local attention
for even in those days there were people
who objected to church bells. Many feared
also, that the steeple was too tall and slen-
der to bear the brunt of heavy wind storms,
but it has challenged time and the ele-
ments, and the changes that ring out on its
scale of bells doubtless give spiritual COM
fort to the many worshipers, who respond
to their prayer call. The early history of
the Metropolitan is identified with Prof.
Widdows, who rang the bells SO skillfully,
and with the brilliant pastor Of the church,
whom Dom Platt-irreverenty jocular-in-
sstently referred to in his Capital as
The Rev. ]. P. Newman, DID. with chimes
attached
The four bells of ST. Aloysius Church
were swung in their steeple forty years
ago, and it may be interesting to note the
ceremony of that occasion, from The Stars
report of September 8, 1866.
A procession formed of priests, acolytes.
citizens, students and children from all
the Catholic schools and asylums of Wash
ingtoE marched from old GonZaga SEM
mary, on street, between 9th and 10th
streets northwest, to the church grounds,
led by and -intersrersed with bands. The
four bells. wreathed with flowers. were set
on a platform, and on the stand were
Mayor Walach, w. w. Corcoran and many
and other cities, together with the Marine
Band led by Scala. The ceremony of bless
ing the bells was performed by the arch
bishop of Baltimore, who, after washing
each with blessed water, baptized it with
holy oil and chrsm, the attendant priests
meanwhile chanting pselms. The first bell
was dedicated to the Sacred Heart Of
Jesus, the second to the Virgin Mary, the
third to St. Aloysius, and the fourth to
the Holy Angels.
Mr. and Mrs ]. NJ. Simms stood sponsor
for the first bell, which was the gift of Mr..
Provost. Mr.. Savage and his young daugh-
ter stood for the bell donated by them as
did Mr.. Harvey, who had presented the
third. Six white-robed little girls, in bios
som-crowned wells, stood sponsors for the
bell of the Holy Angels In concluding his
address the archbishop said:
We should listen 10 the voices of these
bells with sentiments of faith and piety.
We will imagine that they are the voices
of our blessed Lord; of His holy mother: of
ST. Aloysius, and of the holy angels, call
ing US to prayer
One of these bells tolls out five slow and
cnI CITY v,irb%
ter what the men and women of the parish
may be doing, eating, talking, laughing.
each stops at the first stroke of the bell,
remains silent a minute, and then returns
to the matter in hand.
They have said a prayer for the souls of
their dead.
Perhaps this is why the parishioners of
St Aloysius do not feel that clock would
take the place of their bell.
The town clock that strikes each quarter
of an hour on st. Aloysius was made and
set in place shortly after the bells We're
swung by Brother Welch Of Frederick
He was pious and humble member of the
Jesuit order, and gave to clockmaking all
the attention he could spare from his re-
ligious duties. At one time, when he was
i'll and the clock had run down, the fathers
of ST. Aloysius, mindful of criticism, de-
cided to silence the tower timepiece; but
so many and so urgent were the petitions |
that Brother WEIGH had the happiness of
putting it in order as soon he was WE'LL |
1t has been in order ever since
The "Angelus" that rings out each morn
ing at 6 O'Clock, at noon and again at g in |
the evening is the continuance Of a pious |
practice instituted in the fourteenth CEN
fury, and is not one critic calls it. "a |
jangle Of sound" 1t is a |
prayer, made up Of Bible versicles and re-
sponses. that tells how THE Angel Of the |
Lord declared unto Mary tho coming of |
her divine Son. 1t is prayer that Cath |
o!ics are taught in early childhood, and one |
that becomes dearer when hallowed by the |
charms of association.
X
st. Patrick's Church, originally erected in !
1874, and rebuilt few years ago, has but |
a single bell. The spires Of the new church !
have not yet been put in place, but plans
show that they will be in keeping with the
general architectural beauty of the edifce !
ST. Paurs Episcopal Church. set in the
quiet greenery of Rock Creek cemetery, is
the Oldest church In the District Of Column !
bia, having been erected in 1925. It's one
bell is a small affair, swung from the limb
of an ancient oak. and its congregation |
the descendants of some Of the |
Oldest families in this part of the country
Christ Episcopal Church OF Georgetown
another ancient edifice. has but one bell
and Trinity Episcopal Church has none