Bell will ring in Heber Springs

Published October 18, 2018

The bell at St. Albert Church in Heber Springs has been moved to a new location and will be used again. Pastor Father Chanda Pillai PJ, IMS, asked that the church bell be located to the left of the front entrance. It will be rung before each weekend Mass.

The Krugs family bought the 1891 McShane Bell Foundry bell at an auction in Bassett, Iowa, in the 1980s. The bell and its parts were stored in the family’s cattle shed in Iowa for several years and then they decided to give it to St. Albert Church when then-pastor Father John Barnes said in a homily that he thought the church should have a bell. The bell was installed in the former church, but when the church built a new church 10 years ago the bell wasn’t being used regularly. Father Pillai requested Tom Shaw, chairman of pastoral council, proceed with getting the bell moved to the new church to be rung for weekend Masses.