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Bells Restored at Church in Dupont

DUPONT, Pa. — The Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Dupont is restoring its bells. The church has three bells, one large and two smaller. They haven’t...

DUPONT, Pa. -- The Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Dupont is restoring its bells.

The church has three bells, one large and two smaller. They haven't worked since the 1960s, but that's about to change.

"We thought it necessary to restore them because a church without a bell is kind of like train without a siren," Fr. Thomas Petro said. "It's necessary to the life of the building but also to call people to prayer."

The church is having its bells restored so they can be rung during service on Sunday. The bells will be blessed and given names.

"We're very excited and we were very excited to learn that when we called in the bell people, they checked the bells out and they said we can do this because most churches have a tape of their bells," parishioner Gene Bartosiewicz said.

The church needed to raise money to restore the bells. They held a parish festival over the summer and brought in $50,000.

"Parishioners really came together with the donations and money to pay for the restoration and we're almost done," Bartosiewicz said

The church brought in several electricians to work on the motors that ring the bells. Electrician Kenneth Capozziello of Wyoming is also helping with the project.

"To me, as a Catholic, it's pretty incredible, because I've never seen the inside workings of a church," Capozziello said. "I'm in the attic, I'm in the basement, I'm all over the whole building."

After the bells ring for the first time on Sunday, they will be very busy.

"So, each day they'll ring three times," Fr. Petro said. "At morning, noon, and night, as well as marking each of the hours. Just a way to let people know that Christ's love in this church is in the midst of their community. So, wherever these bells are heard in Dupont, God's blessings are to follow."

The church will bless the bells at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

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