At the beginning of multiple hours each day, members of SFU’s campus community hear church bells echoing amidst the pine trees. While the sound of these bells has become familiar to students and faculty, the history of the sounds of bells ringing on campus is a story that many are not familiar with.
Thanks to the financial support of alumni and other benefactors, SFU will unveil a new Immaculate Conception Chapel bell and tower on Oct. 18.
Bells have a deep-rooted history in the church, dating back to the early 600s when they were sanctioned to call communities to prayer, meetings and other events of significance. Each bell chime held distinct meaning, depending on how it was rung.
Saint Francis’ chapel and bell tower stand as both audible and visible symbols of SFU’s community and represent the University’s commitment to an education rooted in Catholic and Franciscan values.
On Oct. 30, 1942, a fire destroyed many of the buildings on campus, including Old Main. While classrooms and residence halls were consumed by flames, Old Main’s campus bell survived the blaze. Members of the Class of 1947 initiated this bell’s recasting, and it currently resides in a small tower on the campus mall near Torvian Dining Hall.
This bell is rung two times each year: on the day that new students are welcomed to SFU each August and on graduation day each May.
“The bell from Old Main is significant for new beginnings, for closing things out, and for calling a class together,” said Fr. Matthew Simons, SFU’s Director of Mission Integration.
The original chapel bell tower was built shortly after the chapel was dedicated in 1957. The tower ascended alongside stained-glass windows and featured a flat, limestone roof that served as the foundation for a stainless-steel structure housing a bell.
This bell was crowned by a statue of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception.
By the late 1990s, however, the stainless steel on the bell tower had begun to corrode, posing a safety risk. Fearing that the statue atop the bell might break off in heavy winds, campus officials removed the statue, housing and bell.
Since this removal, there has been no bell in the chapel tower. Instead, the bells that students hear each day are live, recorded bells that are amplified through speakers.
That will soon change.
“For the 175th anniversary, we launched a capital campaign called ‘1.75 million,’” said SFU President Fr. Malachi Van Tassell. “We ended up raising at least 2.5 to 2.75 million dollars, so we had an extra million dollars to play with.
“We said that if we don’t do the bell tower now, we are never going to do it— we have the money and it is a sign from God, so we set aside the money.”
While SFU still possesses the chapel’s previous tower bell, it was too small for the newly constructed bell tower. When the decision was made to build a new bell tower, Fr. Matthew started working with an architect to not only design what the tower would look like, but to also design a bell and tower that would resemble the one featured on the University’s logo.
“Somewhere in the early 2000s, Fr. Christian Oravec (president of Saint Francis from 1977-2004) had purchased a short carillon which is made up of a number of bells,” said Fr. Matthew.
“The biggest of these bells was the one that we (T.O.R. Franciscans) donated to the chapel for the new bell tower – it was proportional and matches the tone of the recorded bells that we currently have.”
Originally cast in 1874 by Fulton & Sons in Pittsburgh, the bell has undergone cleaning to remove dirt. An electronic striker was also installed to enable ringing through a button located inside the chapel’s sacristy.
“For us, it is significant not only that we put a bell back on the chapel, but also that the bell is intended to recall who we are,” said Fr. Matthew.
For SFU’s president, the new bell tower symbolizes “all good things” about the school, especially the generosity of alumni and the University’s enduring legacy.
“The bell tower symbolizes how much alumni love the institution,” said Fr. Malachi. “It makes a statement about the University. SFU is 175 years old, we are here to stay, and that bell will be here 175 years from now.
“It shows our longevity.”
In addition to current students and faculty who are excited about the new bell tower, alumni are also looking forward to its addition.
Alumna Katie Siniawski (formerly Katie Dacanay) appreciates that the new bell tower will honor SFU’s past, present and future.
“The chapel definitely deserves the makeover it is receiving,” said Siniawski. “It is one of the special places on campus, representing our Catholic faith and values that unite us as a University community.
“When I visited campus in the spring of last year, I noticed many new buildings have been added and existing buildings have been renovated,” said Siniawski, a 2012 graduate who teaches history at Serra Catholic High School.
“It looks incredible – like campus got a facelift – but it’s also not the exact same SFU campus that I knew and loved.
“I think that in its design, the new bell tower is a nice nod to previous generations of alumni, acknowledging their experiences and the school’s rich history.”
A ceremony to mark the completion of the new bell tower is scheduled for Oct. 19 at 3:30 p.m. All members of the SFU community are invited to gather in the courtyard near Saint Francis Hall for this event.
During the ceremony, the bell and tower will be blessed and the bell will toll for the first time.
“The tower is the highest point on campus and the central symbol of the University and our underlying faith,” said Fr. Matthew.
“It’s why we are here.
