CHURCH BELLS. One of the 182-year-old church bells fabricated during the Spanish period and kept at the Parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Barangay Egaña in Sibalom. Engineer Jonathan De Gracia, a local history and culture advocate, said in an interview Tuesday (Feb. 6, 2024) there is a need to preserve the two bells that could serve as additional attractions in the province. (Photo courtesy of Engr. Jonathan De Gracia)
SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique – A local historian from this province recommended the preservation of two church bells built during the Spanish period in the municipality of Sibalom.
Engineer Jonathan De Gracia, a member of the Sibalom Municipal Council on Tourism and History, on Tuesday said the 182-year-old church bells are kept at the belfry of the Parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Barangay Egaña but are exposed to the sun.
“The bells at the Parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus are important treasures that have to be sheltered so it will not get rusty and will last for a longer time," De Gracia said in an interview on Tuesday.
Spanish priest Fr. Julian Nuñez assigned to the Sta. Rita De Cascia Parish Church in Sibalom town from 1839-1851 commissioned the fabrication of the bells, he said.
The bells are 91.44 centimeters tall and made of copper.
He said there used to be a copper mine in Barangays Carawisan and Bongbongan in Sibalom in the 1840s that could have helped realize the commissioning of the two bells.
He added that while they are no longer in use, they are considered treasures of the Diocese of Antique and important cultural properties of Sibalom.
When preserved, they could be additional tourist attractions in the province.
The Sta. Rita De Cascia Parish Church lent the bells to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the 1950s and stayed there until today.
De Gracia further said other churches in Antique also had copper bells, including Bugasong, San Jose de Buenavista, Hamtic, and Anini-y.
“Only rich churches before could afford to have such bells made,” he said. (PNA)
