The Clapper of the Golden Bell of See Cathedral put back in place by the locals.
OLD GOA
Popularly known as the Golden Bell of Goa, the main bell of the See Cathedral was broken for several months and was not tolled even during the Exposition of the Sacred Relics of St Francis Xavier.
However, with the death of the Pope and the Bishop's circular that bells need to be tolled in Churches and Chapels, the Old Goa locals got together and repaired the Golden Bell so that the same may be tolled on two-days to mourn the death of the Pope.
Speaking to The Goan, local Xavier Rodrigues said that he complained about the non-functional Golden Bell to the ASI on Tuesday and demanded immediate repairs on account of the Pope's death.
However, an ASI official informed me that he would look into the complaint once the application reaches his desk.
"By the time my application reaches his desk, the funeral of the Pope would get over. So, like-minded locals got together and decided to repair the bell ourselves," Rodrigues stated.
Another local Lloyd Vaz informed that they found that the clapper of the bell had fallen down due to which one could not ring the Golden Bell.
"So we first understood the mechanism of the bell and then brought in more hands because the clapper was very heavy. We then connected the clapper to the bell and it took us around 75 minutes," Vaz stated while adding that to make the bell more secure, it is chained with bolts.
"We have only done the repairs temporarily but the ASI needs to inspect the bell and make permanent repairs," Vaz added.
Another local Glen Cabral, however, raised suspicion whether the clapper was deliberately separated from the bell so that the same could not be tolled.
"Therefore, we are also demanding that a probe has to be initiated into whether there was a sabotage," Glen stated while pointing out that the clapper is so heavy that it took eight men to lift it up and put in place.
"If the clapper had fallen down then there would have been some visible damage which is not seen," Cabral added while chiding the ASI for taking the issue lightly.
"There are so many religious occasions happening in the See Cathedral and due to the broken bell, it could not be tolled. Even during the Easter Vigil Mass when the other bells were tolled the sound was hardly heard," Cabral pointed out and said that the Golden Bell can be heard for around 5 kms when it is really quiet.
Cabral further said that during the Exposition too the bell could not be tolled even though the parish priest has brought it to the notice of the ASI on the need to repair the bell.
"It was on September 24 last year that the parish priest Fr Rosario Oliveira has written to the ASI to repair the bells ahead of the Exposition," Cabral stated.
