SC priest climbs 130 feet to show where church’s new bells will be installed
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- After calibration and programming, the four-bell tower will play different melodies.
- Costs for the bells, including church beautification were estimated at $1.2–$1.5 million.
- The three bells were cast by Royal Eijsbouts Bell Foundry in Asten, Netherlands.
The Sea Islands are about to become more musical.
Three new bells have been added to the steeple at St. Peter’s Catholic Church on Lady’s Island, significantly expanding the range of melodies the Lady’s Island church bells can play.
The three bells, each with their own musical note, were being installed last week. They were cast by the Royal Eijsbouts Bell Foundry in Asten, a town in the southern Netherlands. The cross mounted to the top brings the church’s height to 130 feet, just 21 feet shorter than the Statue of Liberty.
In a video posted in 2023, Father Andrew Trapp, the current pastor, climbed stairs and several ladders as he made his way to the top of the open steeple. He climbed onto a steel structure — originally built to support four bells — and waited for the current single bell to bong.
“Dang, that’s loud.” Trapp said laughing, hunched over.
The single bell has been patiently waiting for the rest of its musical family since the church was built in 2006.
Earlier this year, Trapp spoke to the congregation in person and through a YouTube video about expansion and beautification efforts taking place at the church, costing between $1.2 million and $1.5 million. Part of that plan, he said, was adding three new bells.
“We’ve been adding gradually to that beauty over the years because we weren’t able to do everything at once. There were things that were left for later,” he said. He then specifically addressed the congregation about finishing the bell tower.
“The bell tower was made for four bells. We’ve already got the biggest bell,” he said.
Funds for the bells raised quickly
In his speech to the congregation, Trapp likened the bells to “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.”
“It’s not only papa bell, but it’s supposed to be mama bell, teenager bell and baby bell,” he said. “And once all four of them are in, each with different notes, Christian hymns would be heard throughout the whole area.”
The Diocese of Charleston approved the fundraising plans for the bells and other church beautification elements. The church and its congregation raised the money in three months, according to the church.
The bells were blessed last weekend and are being hoisted by Beaufort’s Certified Crane Service.
The stories behind the church bells
According to Parish Manager Willard Fosberry, the bells each have their own names and stories tied to the founding of Santa Elena, the 16th-century Spanish colonial settlement in what is now present-day Parris Island.
The original bell, added to the tower with the construction of the church, is the largest and has been chiming every half hour since 2006. Named the Santa Elena, it rings F-sharp, the fundamental pitch in the chromatic scale. It is inscribed with Vox Dei, the Latin phrase that translates to “Voice of God.” It weighs 1,990 pounds.
The other bells are the 869 lb. San Marcos, toned to play A-sharp, the 583 lb. San Miguel, which plays a C and San Felipe, the baby of the four, which weighs 403 pounds and plays a D.
“As soon as the bell company comes, they’re going to come and take another glance and calibrate all of them again,” communications coordinator Anna Sudomerski said as the 165 ton crane arrived Tuesday, May 19.
“Currently, the bells ring every hour and half hour. In the weeks ahead, we will be programming to play different melodies,” Trapp wrote to his congregation adding “the bells are like God’s voice calling us to prayer.”
Sudomerski sang Hallelujah melodically, striking each symbol with a different note as an example on how the bells may be programmed.
“You know, that might be one of the sounds” she said with a heavenly smile.
