When Our Lady of the Holy Souls Church started as a mission of the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock in 1927, the bell tower was a prominent feature in its Spanish mission design.
The 30-foot tower is the only structure left today from the original church. Strangely, parishioners today can’t remember if there was ever a bell or if it ever rang.
In observance of the parish’s 80th anniversary, members are going to rectify the situation and restore the bell tower and add eight digital bells.
Over the years, the bell tower has become an overlooked feature on the parish grounds. Pigeons left droppings inside the tower and a large piece of plaster fell off, making it unsafe in its current condition, pastor Msgr. David LeSieur said.
“When that happened, it just woke us up,” he said of the plaster falling in December.
On Sunday, May 21 a Mass and dinner will be held to announce the Bell Tower Restoration Fund.
During an interview last week with Arkansas Catholic, several longtime parishioners gathered to reminisce about the church and school building they loved until it was torn down in 1992 and the bell tower — the only reminder they have of their childhood parish.
“It was the only thing that could be kept,” parishioner Donna Bressinck said.
“It was not safe to keep any other part of the church,” Msgr. LeSieur said.
In 1971 the current church was built, and the old church was kept to serve as a parish hall, school library and cafeteria. When the school expanded in 1992, the decision was made to tear down the original church, salvage the bell tower and make it a freestanding structure.
The pastor and current parishioners assume the decision was made to salvage the tower as a way to keep a little history.
“There must have been somebody who wanted it to stay,” Bressinck said.
Parishioners who have been connected to the parish for 50 years or more will be honored May 21 during the dinner. Many of them have fond memories of the church where they received their sacraments.
“Anything I remember architecturally of the church was the bell tower and its mission look,” said Little Rock Mayor Jim Dailey, who grew up in the parish.
Parishioners interviewed could not decide whether the tower had bells.
“I don’t remember the bells ringing,” said Ellen Dailey, the mayor’s mother.
Mary Allen, the sister of longtime pastor Msgr. Francis Allen, said she didn’t remember the bells ringing.
“Maybe it was just for looks,” said Kathy Dailey Hightower, the mayor’s sister.
The pastor said the current church does have a belfry that played an “electronic tape of bell sounds.” The recording and speaker have not been used in many years.
“That was before there was digital bells,” Msgr. LeSieur said.
“Now you can go on the Internet and pick the bell sounds,” Mayor Dailey said.
Robert Carson, the parish music director, said a carillon of eight digital bells have already been purchased by the school children and other parishioners. Each $1,900 bell will be distinct, he said, and when the tower is restored later this year, the bells will be used to begin the school day and before Mass and for weddings and funerals.
The idea of the renovation was planted by the family of Rosemary Kelley, a founding member of the parish who died in January 2004. After her death, the family donated money in her memory to restore the tower.
“Holy Souls was very precious to her,” her daughter Rose Cranford said. “When she was alive (after Mass) she would say, ’Rosie, take me down to the bell tower.’ It (the project) has just mushroomed into this beautiful thing.”
The Kelley family and others have already donated $34,000 to the fund.
“Much more will be needed in order to preserve the tower as the beautiful symbol of Holy Souls that it should be,” the pastor said.
The funds will be used to restore the tower with a tile roof and make it structurally sound, landscape the area and erect a new parish sign.
The public is invited to attend the Mass May 21 at 4 p.m., followed by a dinner from 5-8 p.m., sponsored by the Knights of Columbus. The Italian sausage and spaghetti dinner will be cooked from the late Louis Mancini’s recipe. Take-out dinners will be available as well as sausage by the pound. The cost is $15 for adults or $5 for children 11 years old and younger. Reservations are required. For more information or tickets, call the parish office at (501) 663-8632.