"Nine newly cast bells have been displayed at Notre Dame, the Paris cathedral, weeks before being hoisted into the two great towers for Easter.
The new bells, weighing 23 tons and named after saints and prominent Catholics, have been cast to mark the 850th anniversary of the Cathedral's founding in 1163. They replaced bells that had become discordant and will first be heard as they peal out on March 23, in time for Palm Sunday and Easter week.
"Eight of the nine new bells were cast in a foundry in the Normandy town of Villedieu-les-Poeles. The ninth – a "bourdon," or Great Bell, named Marie – was cast in the Netherlands and then sent to Normandy to join the others.
Recently, they were sent by a slow-moving convoy of flatbed trucks to the French capital.
The old bells, dated from different periods throughout Notre Dame's history, were out of tune with each other and with the one surviving Great Bell, Emmanuel, which has hung in the cathedral since the 17th century. It will remain." Via The Telegraph.
"The South Tower is home to Notre Dame’s largest bell, the Emmanuel Bell.
It is sounded for major holidays like Christmas, Easter, Whitsunday, or All Saint’s Day, or significant events, for example, the death of Pope John Paul II and the election of his successor, Benedict XVI.
The Emmanuel Bell was cast over three hundred years ago and was named after its godfather, Louis XIV. It weighs 13 tons, and its tongue, the inner part of the bell that strikes its walls to make sounds, weighs 500 kilos." Via Notre Dame News
The new bells are beautiful.
The rim I could not hold in my hand.
Each one is named.
"The North Tower is home to four bells rung daily to indicate the cathedral’s services and the time. They each weigh between 2,000 and 3,000 kilograms.
These bells rhythm believers’ daily lives, calling them to prayer and indicating a solemn call to services. They were once used to inform people of the time. Everyone has a watch today, but the bells continue to ring the hour, showing that the cathedral is a Living place." Via Notre Dame News
French Husband and I went to Mass last night at Notre Dame. The bells were lined up from the smallest to the largest down the center aisle. I had never seen so many people inside Notre Dame; I could barely move.
But I had a mission, and I would see to it no matter what. I managed with calm determination to lay my hands on each bell and say the names of those I love, those in need of prayer, those I have promised to pray for, for you who read my blog and have prayed for me and my family, for our friend who you have been praying for, for my Godchild Daisy, for Heather, for Alisa, for Shelley… it took several minutes at each bell. But I did it.
I prayed that when these bells go up into the tower, and when they ring, whenever they ring, they will echo the prayers said, the prayers heard … that when the bells ring, those of us might also sing with full generous hearts: Life! Healing! Hope!
My view is that our prayers will be heard for years to come.
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