St.Leo Parish History

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St. Leo The Great Church
est. 1881

THE BELL TOWER OF ST. LEO'S CHURCH

The Bell Tower or Campanille
is a central architectural feature of St. Leo's Church. The arches within arches that appear throughout both the interior and exterior of the Church are repeated here.

The images that follow reflect the massive size of the bell and the psalmic passage and engraved names on its surface.

Immediately below is one of several old wooden stairs that include some 70 steps from the ground floor of the Sacristy to the bell itself.

The bell hangs from a wheel-like structure of heavy wooden beams and spokes. A heavy fiber rope travels
from a striking mechanism over a curved pulley through holes in the tower's levels to a point just outside of
the entry door in the Sacristy.

The following engraving appears on the bell's surface:

"From the rising of the sun, unto the going of the same, the name of the Lord is worthy of praise."
PS. CXL 1.3.
St. Leo The Great.

Pope Leo the XIII
.

In addition, the following names are traced left to right around the bell:

Very Rev. Edward McColgan V.G.
Rev. Jos. L. Andreis, 1st. Pastor.
Rev. Walker S. Caughey.
Loenzo Marotti; Giuseppe Crovo.
Wm. Carroll; Jno. McWilliams.
Chas R. & Catherine Hamilton
James P. & Mary & Celia Byrne.
Thos. O. Sollers; James Noble
Denis Noble; Jno. Nunan
A.E.R. Milholland; Bridget Dunn
Joseph & Lizie Elliott; Annie McWilliams

Below are depicted samples of the actual engraving

Getting to the top can be daunting for the steps are narrow, steep and more dimly lit than these images suggest.

View looking down a flight of steps

View looking up another flight of steps

From a tower window looking out on Stiles Street.