Wedding Bell Peal

[JaMc]

I have recently become my parish’s “designated bell ringer,” since I took it upon myself to toll the bell at my grandfather’s funeral last October - the first time our church bell had rang at a funeral in close to 50 years, and have been tolling it at every funeral since then (in addition to ringing prior to Sunday Mass). Now, there is going to be a wedding at my parish next Saturday, and I would like to ring our church bell at a joyous occasion for a change - we are an older Parish, so, unfortunately, funerals have been much more common occurrences than weddings of late .

Therefore, since, as with funerals, our bell has not been rung at a wedding for many years, my question is when, how long/how many times it is supposed to ring during a wedding? I have heard that it is rung at the end, as the bride and groom are leaving, but I am unsure how long it is supposed to ring. Is there a “fixed” rule, as with funerals (i.e., funeral rule = three times for a man, twice for a woman, then one toll for each year of the deceased’s life), or is it simply until everyone has left the church, etc.? Any (name removed by moderator)ut would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

James
Grand Knight, K of C council # 1293
Incoming Faithful Captain, President John F. Kennedy Assembly # 186

 

[Trishie]

So far nobody has replied, so maybe it’s up to you, unless someone replies with specifics!

 

[IrishAm]

I’m not sure if it is helpful in your situation, but the following link seems to have interesting information as well as pretty technical stuff that you may understand (and I did not).

bells-clocks.com/

I did understand the following information on bells for funerals and weddings (and feel like I learned something!) . . .

The single bell would have two strikers: an interior swing striker, and an exterior striker. The exterior striker struck the bell while stationary. This produced a monotonous sound. A single bell struck rung once every ten seconds is the Funeral Toll. The Funeral Toll has two traditions. The Funeral Toll struck rung for five minutes, the time it takes to carry the deceased to the altar. The Funeral Toll struck rung for the number of years the person had lived. The Funeral Toll rung at sundown on Friday evening at a cemetery is known as the DeProfundis, rung in honor & in remembrance of the dead.

Three swinging bells became known as the Joyous Wedding Peal. When the couple at the altar, are introduced as Man & Wife, the Joyous Wedding Peal announces to the community that the wedding has, in fact, taken place

 

[JaMc]

That is an interesting link - our church is a standard single-bell setup, with a tolling hammer rope, and “pealing” rope that actually swings the bell. A few years ago, the tolling rope was reconnected when it was discovered that the alleged “structural deficiencies” in the belfry did not, in fact, exist (the Church was only built in 1926 - a red brick “gothic revival” style). I had been ringing it will the tolling hammer on Sundays, in addition to funerals. However, yesterday afternoon we re-connected a second rope to the pealing wheel, so now it is fully operational (still need to get the hang of the rhythm - seem like it takes on a mind of its own after you pull the rope ). Since I have been ringing it at so many funerals lately, it will be nice to ring it for a happy occasion for once.

Speaking of Sunday, this raises another question - is there a set/traditional length of time to ring it for the “call to worship,” or is it just at the ringer’s discretion? I was reading someplace that you’re supposed to ring it six times, but, if you are pealing it, it would seem like it would be more in terms of time than number…

Thanks again in advance

 

[musicmantg11]

My parish has one bell in the belfry with speakers for our electronic carilon. Our new priest likes church bells, so he started to use the hand bell with the rope instead of the electronic one.

 

[Praxis]

That is an interesting link - our church is a standard single-bell setup, with a tolling hammer rope, and “pealing” rope that actually swings the bell. A few years ago, the tolling rope was reconnected when it was discovered that the alleged “structural deficiencies” in the belfry did not, in fact, exist (the Church was only built in 1926 - a red brick “gothic revival” style). I had been ringing it will the tolling hammer on Sundays, in addition to funerals. However, yesterday afternoon we re-connected a second rope to the pealing wheel, so now it is fully operational (still need to get the hang of the rhythm - seem like it takes on a mind of its own after you pull the rope ). Since I have been ringing it at so many funerals lately, it will be nice to ring it for a happy occasion for once.

Speaking of Sunday, this raises another question - is there a set/traditional length of time to ring it for the “call to worship,” or is it just at the ringer’s discretion? I was reading someplace that you’re supposed to ring it six times, but, if you are pealing it, it would seem like it would be more in terms of time than number…

Thanks again in advance

There are no set standards by the Church. With only one bell you are quite limited in what you can do anyway.

We ring the Call to Worship pattern here locally 10 minutes before Mass begins. It takes 3-5 bells and it really booms.

At funerals, we toll our largest bell. When Pope John Paul II passed I tolled it 84 times before Mass. You could have heard a pin drop (except for the crying) afterwards.

At weddings, we ring the Gloria pattern as the wedding party processes out. We also ring the De Profundis pattern now and then and also the Angelus a few times a day.

Try to find some oldsters and talk to them to see what they did in years past. The tradition is your own and it should be kept alive if at all possible.