By Nancy Miller Chenier
Have you heard our Lowertown bells this summer? Do you ever listen to the sound of the bells reverberating through the air above our community? Lowertown has ten bells that chime with different tones to communicate various events. There are five bells In the spires of Notre Dame Cathedral, four in the Saint-Anne steeples, and one at the ByWard Market building. Together they ring out our history.
When you listen to the bells of Notre Dame, think of Archbishop Duhamel. One of the bells bears a likeness of him and may be continuing his call for strong French- Canadian institutions. The two bells in one spire and three in the other were installed in 1944. They ring each day at noon and at 6 p.m. to announce the time of the Angelus prayer. They also ring during special celebrations such as baptisms, weddings and funerals. Some long-time residents remember that they rang to celebrate the end of the Second World War.
inscribed with the emblem of
Pope Pius X
The four bells at SaintAnne Church, now home to St. Clement Parish, were purchased in 1910. Each bell is a different size and has a special inscription,with the largest carrying the emblem of Pope Pius X and the smallest a reference to Joseph Alfred Myrand, then the parish priest. Monsignor Myrand is credited with replacing the original church spire with an openwork bell tower and with arranging the purchase of the four-bell carillon from the Paccard foundries in France.
One evening in May, the bells of Saint Anne Church on Old St Patrick Street rang out across Jules Morin Park to send a positive message. Staff and volunteers from Le Patro d’Ottawa requested the bells as part of a “make noise” effort to raise the spirits of nearby residents.
The oldest bell, cast in 1877, is in the ByWard Market building and was traditionally used to announce the opening and closing of the Market. After a fire at the Market building in 1926, the bell was moved to a New Edinburgh church, and was returned to the market in 1976. Zachary Dayler, the current Executive Director of Marché d’Ottawa Markets says that he is currently exploring the idea of a program where residents can book a morning to ring the bell.
And there is the case of the missing bell called Bridget. In March 1891, St Brigid’s Church on St Patrick Street blessed its 804-pound bell. It seems that sometime in the 1960s, the bell was sold when the church was experiencing budgetary problems. No one appears to know who bought it or where it is.
Our Lowertown bells have varied stories and different tones, and can evoke multiple memories of happy and sad occasions for residents. The bells that still peal so triumphantly convey a sense of well-being and continuity in this uncertain time.