In 1878, this bell saved its church from fire. Now, it will be rededicated as a new automated system is installed.

Daphne Lemke, Fond du Lac Reporter
·2 min read
St. Mary's Church in Fond du Lac still has its original bell from 1866. Previously rung by hand, the bell will get an automation installation April 15.
St. Mary's Church in Fond du Lac still has its original bell from 1866. Previously rung by hand, the bell will get an automation installation April 15.

FOND DU LAC — One of Fond du Lac's oldest churches will soon have a new story to tell.

As St. Mary's Church celebrates a new bell automation system, Holy Family Catholic Community invites the community to a Bell Rededication Ceremony at 11:50 a.m. April 15 outside the church, 59 E. Merrill Ave.

The ceremony will include a blessing, and then a small reception after the 12:10 p.m. Mass inside the church.

The 2,000-pound bronze bell was installed in 1866 when St. Mary's Church was first built and moved into the tower when the current church was built in 1902. It has rung over downtown Fond du Lac ever since.

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Named the "Immaculate Conception," the bell was cast in New York and inscribed with the words "Mary conceived without sin, pray for us" in German, as many of the parishioners at the time were German, according to John J. Schmitz's "More than Brick and Stone: A History of St. Mary’s Parish."

According to Holy Family, the bell saved the church from fire in 1878: lightning struck the spire, and the force of it caused the bell to ring, alerting the local policemen and Engine No. 5 firefighters.

Thus far, 158 years of ushers have rung the bell by hand to signal Mass and other special occasions, but starting April 15, the new automated system will ring the bell on the hour until 9 p.m., as well as five minutes before Mass, and with funerals and weddings. The prayer "The Angelus" will ring out over the city at noon and 6 p.m.

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While the ceremony's date and time is dependent on the new system's installation schedule, it is subject to change.

For more information or updates, visit the Holy Family Catholic Community Fond du Lac Facebook page or hffdl.org.

Contact Daphne Lemke at dlemke@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Fond du Lac Reporter: Fond du Lac St. Mary's Church rededicates bell after automation