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Bells
Our Lady of Peace’s exposed bell tower contains four bronze bells from Burden’s in Cincinnati, cast in Holland. The bell tower is topped with a cross and rises 78 feet above the apex or skylight of the church. As the skylight is 32 feet above the sanctuary, the bell tower’s tip carries it 110 feet over the sanctuary. There are inscriptions on two sides of each of the three larger bells and one on the small bell.
No. 1 Bell is 44 ½ inches in diameter, weighs 1,910 pounds and its musical note is F natural. The inscriptions read: “To the Greater Honor and Glory of Christ the Prince of Peace. Have Mercy on Us.”
“In Memory of the Reverend George H. Foley, Founding Pastor 1946-1965.”
No. 2 Bell is 36 inches in diameter, weighs 1,000 pounds and its tone is an A natural. Its inscriptions read: “To the Praise and Honor of Mary Immaculate, Our Lady Queen of Peace, Pray for Us.”
“On Behalf of the Benefactors and Members of the Parish, Living and Dead.”
No. 3 Bell is 29 ¾ inches in diameter and weighs 583 pounds and its tone is C natural. Its inscriptions read: “In Honor of St. Michael the Archangel, Defend Us.” “In Memory of Bishop Michael J. Ready Who Established the Parish.”
No. 4 Bell is 22 ½ inches in diameter, weighs 253 pounds and its note is F natural. The inscription reads: “In Honor of St. John the Baptist, Patron of his Holiness Pope Paul VI, and Bishop John J. Carberry, Columbus 1966, Intercede for Us.”
Windows
Historically, in addition to bathing the assembly area with their beautiful light, stained glass windows illustrated the stories of the Bible for those who could not read or afford expensive manuscripts.
The stained glass windows at Our Lady of Peace were made by Franklin Art Glass of Columbus, Ohio, for the church dedicated in 1967. The overall theme of the windows is "Our Lady of Peace." The olive branch is the symbol of peace and therefore the basic motif for all the windows in the church. The use of rich English and German antique glass accents this theme. The window dimensions are 5 feet by 2 feet.
To be continued...
Stations of the Cross
The Stations of the cross are a Catholic devotion commemorating the stops along the Via Dolorosa (Latin for "way of sorrow"), Jesus' journey of about a mile from Pilate's court, the praetorium, to Calvary and the tomb. Legend has it that Mary often retraced the sorrowful way her son made on Good Friday. At each station there is an image depicting scenes from the Good Friday journey Jesus made, and the person or group "making" the stations stops at each one and prays and meditates briefly on each incident of the passion.
In today's church there are usually 14 stations. Depictions of these stations are most frequently found mounted on the walls below small crosses. They usually are arranged at intervals around the walls of the church. The Stations may be of stone, wood, or metal, sculpted or carved, or painting or engravings.
The Stations of the Cross is a devotion serving as both a prayer and a sort of catechism about the sufferings of Christ. It also enables those, then and now, who could not afford the rigors and expense of a long pilgrimage to the Holy Land to participate in the Passion of Jesus in their own parish churches and villages. The Stations of the Cross have evolved over the years---at one time they numbered 43. The 14 stations as we know them today stabilized under the reign of Pope Clement XII (1731) and are prescribed by that authority.
To be continued...
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