LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The bells are the voice the church, but for one of Louisville's oldest Catholic churches in the Phoenix Hill neighborhood, that voice has fallen silent.

The old steeple at St. Martin of Tours on South Shelby Street, built of brick and wood, towers high above Louisville. Inside are three bells in dire need of repair. Each is at least 150 years old, and the mechanisms powering them date back to the 1940s.

Due to the outdated structures, two of the bells have fallen completely silent. The third may not be far behind, church leaders say.

"Only one of the actual hammers that strikes one of the bells will work, and we have to be very delicate with it," said Rev. Paul Beach, pastor at St. Martin of Tours.

The goal now, Beach said, is to raise money to repair the bells and usher in a new era for the church.

"If we're able to restore the functioning of the bells, they would ring throughout the day to mark those times of prayer, a symbol to remind us of the presence of God in our community and our midst, to ring out the love of God," Beach said.

St. Martin of Tours was dedicated way back in 1853 to serve what was a burgeoning immigrant population in Germantown, Butchertown and Phoenix Hill, the church says in its history. It even houses the skeletal remains of two saints: Sts. Magnus and Bonosa. But the bells are so old and haven't worked in so long that little is know about them. Beach said when they were blessed they would have been given names.

These are the only details on the bells, courtesy of the fundraising campaign's website:

  • Bell #1 is 56" diameter & 3,500 lb., from the Hanks Bell Foundry (Cincinnati, OH; operated between 1851 and 1869)
  • Bell #2 is 44" diameter & 1,800 lb., from the Niles Works Bell Foundry (Cincinnati, OH; operated between 1860 and 1869)
  • Bell #3 is 34" diameter & 800 lb., from Kaye & Co. Foundry (Louisville, KY; operated between 1841 and 1895)
Bell at St. Martin of Tours

A bell in the steeple at St. Martin of Tours in Louisville. Nov. 28, 2024. (WDRB Photo)

"It's that connection of a bell to a voice, and so when a bell is blessed, it's dedicated for this particular use and to the proclamation of the faith and of the gospel and the love of God," Beach said Thursday.

As of Thursday night, nearly $22,000 had been donated for the church bells campaign. If you would like to make a donation to help meet the $100,000 goal, click here.

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