Bauang folk await stolen bell in US

WORKERS unbolt the San Pedro bell from its base outside the Most Holy Trinity Catholic Chapel in West Point, New York. JON MELEGRITO/INQUIRER.NET US BUREAU

BAUANG, La Union—A grand festival is being prepared for the return of the San Pedro bell that used to ring out from the belfry of the 166-year-old St. Peter and Paul Church here until it was shipped to the United States as a war souvenir of the Filipino-American War in 1901.

“The bell has been crated and has started its journey home. It would be here within the week, but we still do not know the exact day of its arrival,” the parish priest, Raymund Chan, said on Tuesday.

The 883-pound (400.5-kilogram) bell made of silver and copper was rung for the last time outside the Most Holy Trinity Catholic Chapel at the US Military Academy in West Point, New York, during a send-off ceremony on April 29.

The piece of Catholic history was hauled to the United States in 1901, supposedly to be melted and molded into ammunition.

Bauang residents did not know about the San Pedro bell’s existence until Dennis Wright, a retired US Navy officer, saw a photograph of the bell online.

Engraved on the bell are the words “San Pedro,” “Bauang,” and the names “Mariano Balancio” and “Mariano Garcia.”

Mariano Balancio was the La Union governor who turned over the bell to Ciendo Cura Parroco Garcia in 1883.

“We have church records that describe Garcia as a town priest of that period. Town records confirm Balancio was the governor,” Chan said.

In September last year, Wright visited Bauang and asked about the missing church bell.

“We heard about a missing bell from older residents, but we were not sure about its existence,” Chan said.

Wright, who is married to a Filipino, helped Chan communicate with Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen Jr., the US Military Academy superintendent, on Nov. 19, 2015.

Chan said he received an e-mailed response from Caslen on Jan. 26 this year that made his heart leap. Caslen wrote: “While we have been honored to guard and display this bell for the past several decades, we would be glad to return it to its rightful home.”

“I immediately announced during a Mass that the superintendent had agreed to return the bell, and everyone applauded,” Chan said.

He said he received Wright’s e-mailed letter on Tuesday informing him about the bell’s scheduled arrival here “within a week.”

Chan said the bell would not be hoisted up the four-story belfry of the church, which was founded in 1850. Instead, it would be placed on top of a platform at the right side of the church.

“During the welcome program, we will ring the bell, the final time it will ring out, and then we will install it on top of the platform where it will be honored,” Chan said.