Legacy

Blessings upon you my children.  I’m Padre Philippe. I wish to tell you of the events that led to a great increase in the size of my congregation.

I’m the Priest charged with the keeping of the flock and ministering to the faithful from the mission of Santa Maria here in the small coastal village of  Apillico.  The time in which this great congregational expansion took place was August in the year of our Lord 1883.

The main method of earning a living in Apillico was fishing.  There were also weavers of Serapes and blankets.  And growers of patches of corn.  A very small silver mine just outside of the village a mile or two helped with the economy a bit.

The Mission of Santa Maria had a medium size brass bell that was sounded each Sunday to call the faithful to Mass.  It made a nice ding dong sound.  But it was just one sound.  I’d always thought it would be nice to have two bells; one slightly larger than the one we had would make a duet chiming sound that should be so sweet as to invite many.  I’d expressed my wishful thinking enough times that it was common knowledge that I Padre Philippe  had a ding dong fixation.  I had to laugh at myself when I thought of it that way.

However, it was common knowledge so when the owners of the small silver mine hit a pretty good vein of silver, they came to me and said Padre we would like to donate the silver to make a silver bell.  I was so elated.  Nothing could be grander than a silver bell.  But, silver bells of a smaller size were kept inside out of the weather and not subject to heavy clapper blows.  So it was decided that the bell should be cast of half silver and half brass.  That would make a sweet sound and be durable. We however had no brass.

The villagers all wanted to get in on it and they donated small pots, dishes, and candlesticks till we had sufficient brass to go with the silver.

Now there only remained to find a way to get the bell cast. No one locally knew how.  Someone piped up and said, isn’t Pedro the Tinker and Blacksmith due in a week or two for his semi annual visit as he goes from village to village.  Yes, yes that was right.  We waited and in about ten days Pedro arrived.

He said he was no great expert but he’d cast a bell or two in past years and though he could cast another.  Pedro was used to bells as one of his jobs when he came through every six months was to go up into the bell tower and polish the brass bell.  He did excellent work and charged very little.

However this was a lot more than a polishing job and I had no idea as to how we could pay Pedro.  We were a poor village.  That problem was solved when Pedro said, it’s for the church, so no charge.  But I’d appreciate some good meals the few days it will take me to complete the work.  That was an easy one, every one wanted to provide and Pedro feasted.

It was a learning experience to watch Pedro work.  First he made a model of the bell out of clay.  Then he made a large wooden open topped box out of wood.  Then he engaged some helpers to make very hot charcoal fires and stoke them with the bellows he carried with him.  Three fires to be exact because it would take three small caldrons of molten brass and silver for the pour.  No single caldron large enough was available so it had to be done with three.

As the metal was melting he filled about a third of the box with packed wet sand.  Then he lowered the clay model gently down into to the box being careful to center it.  Then he filled in around the model with more packed wet sand.  He made sure it was very well packed.

Then Pedro carefully and slowly raised the model up about one inch, placing an iron rod on each side to prevent it from settling back down.  That one inch would be the thickness of the bell.  The molten brass and silver was now ready to pour and it was carefully poured in the gap left by the raised model.  When the metal reached the proper level the pour was over.  There was very little left.  The amount needed had been calculated very well.

The pour was left to cool for twenty four hours.  Everyone was there to see the bell come out of the mold.  It came out very well a good solid bell.  The pour had been totally successful.  However it wasn’t shiny and pretty, it was dull and rough.  I was starting to feel disappointed when Pedro said “Don’t worry all pours look like that, the rough will be scraped off with a draw knife.”  “Then I will grind and polish it to a great beauty.”  I was relieved to hear that.  After all what do I know about metal working.

When it was done we hung it on a little rope and Pedro tapped it lightly with his hammer.  Oh such a lovely sound.  It was a bing bong which I just knew would go well with ding dong.

Pedro installed a clapper and hung the bell in the bell tower.  It was now time to test the blended sounds.  We did and oh how sweet it was.  I just knew it should call more people to mass, and it did, though less than I’d hoped for; but still a gain.

It had been five and a half months since Pedro left and the beautiful ringing was admired by all.  Then it happened, one Sunday when I rang the bells to call the faithful something was different.  The melodic duet was gone and in its place was a Its hard to describe, but I will try. A ding do-boooingg!  It was lower pitched and sounded like a woman wailing help meeeee!  I was scared out of my robes.

Was this the Holy Mother sending a message?  If so, what and why?  This bell miracle was very unsettling.  I was too scared to even go up and look at them.  But I will tell you this, there was a very large response to the bells.  People from every where were there on their knees.

The following Sunday word had spread and I rang the bells again, same result.  I’d  never seen so many people praying in my life.  My scared turned to happiness and joy.  Indeed a miracle was happening.

The next Saturday as I headed toward the church I met Pedro coming out.  He said “good day to you Padre.  I’m back again and couldn’t wait to polish the bells and see how my work was holding up.”  I was at a sudden loss for words.  Before I could find any, Pedro said “funny thing Padre, I found that several groups of mud dobber wasps had built nests inside the new bell.  That may have affected tone like bumps on a steel drum top, and or affected balance and thus resonating vibrating situations.”  Padre had you noticed any difference in the sound.”

I was really severely at a loss for words now.  But I finally found them and explained it to Pedro.  He had a very big smile and said, “it got the people here and praying like they’d  never prayed before did it not?”  I said yes.  Pedro said “well God works in mysterious ways and seeing the results, I’d call it a miracle.”

I thought a minute and agreed, and we both laughed when I said but I don’t think I will report this one to the Pope.