“Ring of bells” for St Patrick’s Cathedral Parramatta
The first Mass in the area of St Patrick’s Cathedral in Parramatta was in 1803 just 15 years after the First Fleet arrived. The foundation stone for the first St Patrick's was laid on St Patrick's Day in 1836. The dream of installing a ring of bells at St Patrick’s Cathedral dates back to 1853. In 2019, eight specially commissioned bells arrived from the UK and started the final chapter in a 167-year quest to install a ring of bells in the spire of the Cathedral. Six of the bells are over 100 years old and sourced from St Paul's Anglican Church in Widnes England. Two additional bells, including a tenor bell, were newly cast at John Taylor Bell Foundry in Leicestershire England. Together, the eight bells were tuned into an octave in the key of A Major at Matthew Higby & Co in Holcombe England.
At 6pm on Tuesday, 8 September, on the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, history was made with the Blessing of the Bells of St Patrick’s Cathedral. The Blessing (Christening) of Bells is an ancient ritual from the 16th century pontificale of Pope Clement VIII which was a revision of earlier pontificals from the medieval period. (A pontifical is a liturgical book that contains rites and ceremonies only celebrated by a bishop).
Medieval people were not given over to a dualistic world view in which matter and spirit were polar opposites. They didn’t see anything odd in treating an object or vessel for sacred use in the same way as you would treat a human being. For them, the incarnation in which God became human in the person of Jesus and redeemed all matter was the prevailing worldview.
Church bells have been in use since the 5th century and were common in the middle ages. They were used particularly by monastic communities to call the monks, who during the day were in various places in the monastery, to gather for prayer in the chapel or church. Later, the custom became more common in parish churches and the bells were used to call the people to the celebration of the Eucharist, as well as the recitation of the angelus prayer throughout the day.
Bells were also a means of communication to the local community about important events and often to warn people of impending danger.
Church bells also have spiritual significance. When new church bells are installed, they are traditionally “baptised” or “consecrated” by the bishop. While not in fact a baptism, the ceremony mirrors in many ways the celebration of baptism with the pouring or washing with holy water and the anointing with holy oils. The bells are named in honour of saints or after the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The bells of St Patrick’s in Parramatta are a new addition to the Catholic and musical heritage of Sydney.
Further information on the bells of St Patrick’s Cathedral in Parramatta