For centuries the ringing of church bells have called the faithful to worship, signal the time of day and encourages prayer.
The four bronze bells in the Cabrini tower were cast in Troy, New York at the Meneely Bell Foundry in 1873, Commissioned for Nebraska’s first Catholic Cathedral, St. Philomena. This was the first peal of bells in the Nebraska Territory. The bells vary in size and tone and all together weigh roughly 3000 lbs.
It is a custom in the Roman Catholic Church to bless and name bells. The names, inscribed in Latin, given to the four bells in the tower were Ava Maria, St. Philomena, St. Joseph and All Saints.
The bells were silent for over 40 years after both the tower and mechanisms fell into disrepair. In 2016, the bell tower was tuckpointed, the bells stabilized and repaired.
Since the restoration, the bells ring daily calling the faithful to worship, hourly signaling the time of day and at noon and 6 PM ringing the Angelus.