FRANCE/FILE: Notre Dame cathedral's new bells are tested before their first official sounding to mark the start of Holy Week

Record ID: 187243

  • Title: FRANCE/FILE: Notre Dame cathedral's new bells are tested before their first official sounding to mark the start of Holy Week
  • Date: 22nd March 2013
  • Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (MARCH 22, 2013) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL WITH SOUND OF BELLS BEING TESTED SIGN READING (French): "850 YEARS" SIGN READING (French): "FIRST SOUNDING OF THE NEW BELLS OF NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL" TOURISTS QUEUING TO ENTER NOTRE DAME RECTOR OF NOTRE DAME MONSEIGNEUR JACQUIN ENTERING ROOM, SITTING AT TABLE JACQUIN PUTTING ON GLASSES VARIOUS OF JACQUIN READING FRAMED PICTURE OF NOTRE DAME (SOUNDBITE) (French) RECTOR OF NOTRE DAME MONSEIGNEUR JACQUIN SAYING: "In the solemnity of the great Holy Week, we'll hear for the first time this set of bells sing with the greatest ceremony, all the bells, which are going to ring, reverberate, resound, sing in the Parisian sky." STATUE OF VIRGIN MARY (SOUNDBITE) (French) RECTOR OF NOTRE DAME MONSEIGNEUR JACQUIN SAYING: "It's also these ten bells which are now going to definitively sound the quarter-hours and the hours, and of course all the services of the week and throughout the year to assemble the people and invite them to prayer. It's also a way for the people of the city to feel that this cathedral in the heart of the town resonates and echoes to the joys and griefs of the men of these times." VARIOUS OF EXTERIORS OF NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL WITH SOUND OF BELLS BEING TESTED
  • Embargoed: 6th April 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Religion,Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVA9A2V5IRDUCTKT9EESV7T2GLE0
  • Story Text: Tourists were given a sneak preview of the voices of Notre Dame's new bells on Friday (March 22) as they were tested before their official sounding.
    As crowds queued for the popular Parisian landmark, the sound of the cathedral's latest additions could be heard ringing above.
    The official first sounding of the bells takes place on Saturday to kick off Holy Week celebrations in the church, which had the new bells cast as part of its 850th anniversary celebrations.
    Rector of Notre Dame Monseigneur Jacquin said the run-up to Easter was the apt moment for the bells to join the voices of Paris.
    "In the solemnity of the great Holy Week, we'll hear this set of bells sing with the greatest ceremony, all the bells, which are going to ring, reverberate, resound, sing in the Parisian sky," he told Reuters TV.
    Jacquin added that the bells would bring a sense of community to the City of Light.
    "It's also a way for the people of the city to feel that this cathedral in the heart of the town resonates and echoes to the joys and griefs of the men of these times," he said.
    The bells had been all but silent since February last year as the set of four in place since the 1850s were removed and put into storage. One lone bell remained to toll for the throngs of tourists.
    A French bell foundry several hundred kilometres from Paris was chosen to design and make their eight replacements, each named after an important figure in the religious history of Paris. As well as the eight bells produced by craftsmen in Normandy, an additional bell was made by a Dutch foundry -- a nod to the international reach of Notre Dame.
    The surviving great bell Emmanuel from 1686 was joined by its new comrades cast over a number of months, including Marie, Gabriel and Anne-Genevieve.
    Transported on lorries from the foundry and paraded down the Champs Elysees avenue, the bells were welcomed in January with applause by crowds eager to see the new additions to the Parisian landmark.
    A ceremonial blessing for the new arrivals was held in February, where each received its name from two children designated as its 'godmother' and 'godfather'.
    Former Pope Benedict XVI was also godfather of the bell Benoit-Joseph. All the bells later received the blessing of Pope Francis, which was conveyed to the archbishop of Paris two days after his election.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register