THE BELLS OF ST. LAURENTIUS CHURCH
On May 9, 1917, the water management church from 1828 burned down. Among other things, the 23-part organ (divided over 2 manuals with attached pedal) by Jean-Joseph Delhaye and the beautiful bell tower were lost.
The foundations of this tower are still in front of the current Laurentius Church.
In 1920 the current Cuypers church was put into use. Unfortunately, the money had run out, so the planned clock tower was never built. That is why we now have to make do with only 3 bells. The largest bell (g1) is located in the right tower of the north portal, but due to the limited space it is not a loud bell, but an electric bell: the bell does not move but is struck. In the left turret is the smallest bell, also called the 'angelus bell' (g2). This bell is rarely rung anymore. In the south portal in the right tower hangs the middle bell with (d2). Both the angelus bell and the middle bell have to be rung by hand.
It is not often that all 3 bells sound at the same time as in the video. How beautiful it would have been if the planned tower had been there with a beautiful set of bells!
On April 4, 2021, Easter Monday and also the year that our Laurentius Church celebrates its 100th anniversary, the Angelus clock has 'tipped' again at 12 o'clock.
At the initiative of the committee “Culture & Church”, which includes the Summer Concerts Dongen, this ancient tradition has been restored.
The Angelus is a prayer that is traditionally prayed 3 times a day: at 6:00 am, 12:00 pm and 6:00 pm. The prayer is announced by the ringing of a small bell, de Laurentius uses the middle bell on the south side for this. Three beats are given to the clock, after which an invocation with Hail Mary is prayed. This is followed by another 2x 3 strokes on the clock with a new call and Hail Mary. Finally, the bell will be rung for 2 minutes and a closing prayer will be prayed.
Because the clock has to be rung by hand every day by volunteers, you only hear the clock at 12 noon. Thanks to these volunteers, we hope to maintain this renewed tradition for a long time to come.