Annual Bell Ringing
Hello Friends, The bell ringing this week at Mission San Juan Capistrano honors the Feast Day of St. John of Capistrano who is the patron saint and namesake of both the Mission and the city. St. John was a 15th-century Italian friar and theologian known as the ‘Soldier Saint’. Father Junipero Serra name the mission after him in keeping with the Spanish tradition of dedicating missions to Catholic saints. So this Thursday, October 23rd, as the morning sun(hopefully) settles over the old stone Mission walls, something beautiful will happen once again. At 10:00 AM, for a few brief moments, the sound of bronze and history will drift across the Mission grounds, through the gardens, down Los Rios Street, and into the heart of town. The bells have witnessed generations come and go. They have rung for celebrations, prayers, homecomings, and milestones. On this day, they ring in remembrance. It’s easy to think of bells as simply instruments, but in San Juan Capistrano they are storytellers. Each peal carries whispers of early settlers, Acjachemen voices, Franciscan friars, wandering swallows, and families who have gathered beneath these towers for generations. The annual ringing honors a man born half a world away in Italy more than five centuries ago, yet whose name became forever intertwined with our community. Today, that connection remains alive, not in books alone, but in sound. So if you happen to be nearby on Thursday morning, pause for a moment when the bells begin. Listen closely…beneath the ringing, you may hear something more enduring than history itself….a community remembering where it came from and celebrating the traditions that still bind it together. I know Tino and I will be listening thinking that perhaps Saint John guarded over us, our friends, family and pets this past week as the wildfires ravaged our hillsides. Peace be to all of us… David & Tino
