Olympic bell given to Notre Dame Cathedral will ring during every Mass

CNA Staff, Aug 25, 2024 / 05:16 am

A bell made for the recent Paris Olympics will soon find a new home in one of the most historic cathedrals in the world, according to OSV News. 

During the Olympics, track and field athletes rang the bronze bell at the Saint-Denis’ Stade de France, and now that same bell will ring during Masses when Notre Dame Cathedral reopens this December.

The bell, which weighs 1,103 pounds, was made by the Cornille Havard foundry, which produces bells for France’s largest churches and cathedrals, specifically for the Olympic Games. The foundry is located in the small French commune of Villedieu-les-Poêles in Normandy.

In 2013, the Cornille Havard foundry made nine new bells for Notre Dame for the occasion of its 850th anniversary. It was this foundry that also restored eight of these nine bells after they were damaged in the tragic Notre Dame fire on April 15, 2019.

“We were contacted a few months ago by the Paris Organizing Committee to see if we would be interested in this bell for Notre Dame,” said the cathedral’s rector-archpriest, Father Olivier Ribadeau Dumas, according to OSV News. “And we accepted this proposal.”

The Olympic bell will join two other bells inside the cathedral close to the organ. The three bells will ring together during the Mass at the time of the consecration.

Notre Dame’s largest bell is known as “le bourdon Emmanuel” and is located in the south tower. Dating back to the time of King Louis XIV at the end of the 17th century, the bell rings for historic events such as the end of both World Wars. This bell was not affected by the 2019 fire and continues to be rung for special occasions. 

Dumas told OSV News that the bell “has rung several times since the fire, at Easter and Christmas, and for special occasions such as the death of Pope Benedict XVI.”