Bell Tower Project Updates

Sunday, June 8 marked a day of special celebration in our Collaborative community: the dedication of The Warren and Patricia Cross Bell Tower and rededication of The DeFazio Family Bell at St. Paul Church! Calling upon the Holy Spirit, the 11AM Pentecost liturgy concluded with a special blessing of new memorial plaques in the church gathering space and a celebration on the front lawn. Fr. Jim reminded us in his homily that we must never forget that the church is first and foremost the People of God who fill our sacred spaces. And yet, the structures we build give glory ...

Please join us for The Dedication of The Warren and Patricia Cross Bell Tower and Rededication of The DeFazio Family Bell Sunday, June 8, 2025 11:00am Mass St. Paul Church History of the St. Paul Bell and Bell Tower Project The St. Paul Mission was established in 1906 for families in the western part of Wellesley. In 1914, land was acquired on Washington Street for a new church to serve the growing congregation. Ground was broken on August 10, 1915, and construction was completed the following spring. The first Mass was celebrated on Sunday, June 4, 1916. Later that ...

Please join us for the REDEDICATION OF THE ST. PAUL BELL AND DEDICATION OF THE ST. PAUL BELL TOWER Sunday, June 8, 2025 11:00am Mass St. Paul Church Reception following on the Church Lawn ...

On May 18 following the 4:00pm Mass we were overjoyed to hear the beautiful sound of the St. Paul Church bell ringing once again, after so many years of silence! Here's a quick video of the celebration in case you missed it: A formal dedication, recognition, and blessing will take place this fall (stay tuned - more info to come!) but we couldn't let the bell remain silent until then! ...

In the fall of 2022, we began an important and extensive project to restore the bell and tower at St. Paul Church. The bell, installed in 1926, had been silent for many years. The silence was due in part to the failure of the ringing mechanism, but also to the critical structural work required to replace the failing wooden supports for the 3,000lb bell and to repair the tower’s masonry and parapet. We are overjoyed to let you know that, thanks to the extraordinary generosity of our parishioners, the final touches have been put on the restoration of the bell ...

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After vendor and supply-chain delays which added months to the project timeline, the structural work on the St. Paul bell tower, including new beams to support the weight of the bell, is now 100% complete. We have moved into the final phase of the project, which is the replacement of the bell's electronic ringing mechanisms. This work is scheduled to be completed within three to four months - we will keep you posted! ...

Great news - the scaffolding on the Bell Tower has been completely removed! The parapet has been fully recast and can now be seen from the street. The only outdoor work remaining is to repaint the front façade pieces that were painted several years ago (prior to Collaboration.) Our contractor will prepare a special mixture of paint to exactly match the rest of the tower, so that the front façade will be completely uniform once again. They will only need to erect a small tower on the side of the church to complete the painting so the full scaffolding will ...

The refurbishment of our Bell Tower is on track to be finished by the end of November! Once that is complete, the work to restore the bell’s ringing mechanism can begin. As of October 24, we have received $131,394 in cash gifts toward our total budget of $487,200 for the renovation. Many thanks to all who have donated or made a pledge to the Bell Tower Fund. If you have not yet had a chance to contribute, envelopes are available at the entrance to the church, and gifts may also be made online by scanning the QR code or by ...

The refurbishment of the St. Paul Bell Tower is well underway! The work is now about 30% complete, and is on track to be finished by the end of November. As of September 11, we have received $114,069 in cash gifts and more than $24,000 in outstanding pledges toward our total budget of $487,200 for the renovation. Thanks to your generosity, we were able to pay the first contractor bill of $102,431 with cash donations received, so we have not yet had to borrow from our line of credit with the Archdiocese. Many thanks to all who have donated or ...

As of August 17, a total of $73,545 has been received toward the total budgeted amount of $487,200 - a great start! To donate now please visit the St. Paul Bell Tower Fund Giving Page Donations may also be made using the reply envelope that was mailed to all registered St. Paul parishioners. Additional envelopes are also available in the back of both churches. THANK YOU! ...

As of August 10, a total of $70,695 has been received toward the total budgeted amount of $487,200 - a great start! To donate now please visit the St. Paul Bell Tower Fund Giving Page Donations may also be made using the reply envelope that was mailed to all registered St. Paul parishioners. Additional envelopes are also available in the back of both churches. THANK YOU! ...

We wanted to share some photos taken this week of the work happening at St. Paul. The team has begun removing a few sections of precast stone from the parapet to send to Northern Design, an architectural precast stone firm, so they can begin building the molds and forms that will be used to precast the elements of the new parapet. Structural engineers and masonry contractor inspecting the parapet. Section of parapet that was removed to be used to create a mold to precast new sections. Bricks removed from the exterior of the tower to examine structural integrity. Stay tuned ...

The work on the bell tower is now well underway! As of July 27, a total of $66,870 has been received toward the total budgeted amount of $487,200 - a great start! To donate now please visit the St. Paul Bell Tower Fund Giving Page Donations may also be made using the reply envelope that was mailed to all registered St. Paul parishioners. Additional envelopes are also available in the back of both churches. THANK YOU! ...

The work on the bell tower is now well underway! As of July 20, a total of $63,750 has been received toward the total budgeted amount of $487,200 - a great start! To donate now please visit the St. Paul Bell Tower Fund Giving Page Donations may also be made using the reply envelope that was mailed to all registered St. Paul parishioners. Additional envelopes are also available in the back of both churches. THANK YOU! ...

The St. Paul Bell Tower project was featured this week on The Swellesley Report! The post, St. Paul Church in Wellesley to bring back the ring of historic bell talks about the project and features some great photos and interesting history! The photos below were taken during the their visit to St. Paul last week, and we wanted to share them with you along with a bit of the bell’s history. The bell was donated to the church in 1926 by Salvatore DeFazio and family. According to St. Paul parishioner Tory DeFazio, Salvatore’s grandson, Salvatore promised the pastor that he ...

"…when the peal of this bell resounds in the clouds may a legion of angels stand watch over the assembly of your Church, the first-fruits of the faithful, and afford your ever abiding protection to them in body and spirit." -from the "Blessing of Bells" The scaffolding is up and the work is about to begin! As you can see in the photo, the scaffolding is set up to allow access to the main doors of the church during construction. The structural work will begin any day now and is scheduled to be complete by the end of November 2022 ...

…when the peal of this bell resounds in the clouds may a legion of angels stand watch over the assembly of your Church, the first-fruits of the faithful, and afford your ever abiding protection to them in body and spirit. -from the Blessing of Bells Earlier this year, Fr. Jim announced to the parish that we would be undertaking an important project this summer at St. Paul. As you know, the St. Paul bell, installed in 1926, has been silent for many years. This is partly because the bell’s ringing mechanism is no longer functioning. However, the more important issue ...