The peals of a 'Jesuit bell' welcome Pope Francis to Sarajevo

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Jun 6, 2015 / 08:35 am

As Pope Francis processed into Mass in Sarajevo's Kosevo Stadium this morning, a massive bell named for St. Francis Xavier was placed at the top of the entrance and two Jesuit priests rang the bell, which will later be given to a new Jesuit parish in the city.

Following Pope Francis' June 6 trip to Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the St. Francis Xavier bell will be given to St. Ignatius of Loyola parish in the Grbavica quarter of Sarajevo.

The St. Francis Xavier bell weighs just over 700 pounds, and has a diameter of 33 inches. It was cast in the Metal Products foundry of Josip Trzec in Zagreb, capital of neighboring Croatia. It is made of silver and a very small amount of tin. It is adorned with Pope Francis' coat of arms, a Croatian-style braide, oak leaves, and the monogram of the Society of Jesus.

The bell is inscribed: "In honor of St. Francis Xavier, patron of the missions, this bell is donated by Metal Mroducts and by the family of Stjepan Safran from Zagreb to the parish church of   St. Ignatius of Loyola in Grbavica in Sarajevo. This bell was cast on the occasion of the visit of the Holy Father Pope Francis to Sarajevo and to Catholics in Bosnia and Herzegovina on 6 June. The bell was cast by Josip Trzec in Zagreb in 2015."

Many provided for Pope Francis' Mass in Sarajevo with various gifts.

The altar, pulpit, chandelier, and processional cross were given by Sikara parish in Tuzla.

Two Muslim artisans, Salen Hajdarovac and his son Edin, made the the chair where Pope Francis sat for Mass.

It was noticed during the Mass that Pope Francis' processional cross had been taped, just below the corpus. Fr. Lombardi, Holy See press officer, told CNA that "the cross got broken before the Mass, and it was impossible to find a new one, so it was fixed in the best way possible."