UP's new bell tower will be blessed by Portland Archbishop John Vlazny
By Olga Mosiychuk
Portland Archbishop John Vlazny will preside over the new bell tower blessing and dedication on Friday, Sept. 18 at noon exactly.
The bells will toll the twelfth hour, signaling the start of the ceremony.
The blessing of new things is an important aspect of the Catholic tradition. Everything from houses to pets can be blessed by a priest.
The point is "to ask God's grace to touch objects in a way that makes them extraordinary," said the Rev. Tom Doyle, C.S.C.
"It is the Catholic way of recognizing that God is already present in everything, to call that to mind," Doyle said.
The Marian Garden, which was reconfigured to become part of the Bell Tower Plaza, will also be blessed and re-dedicated by Archbishop Vlazny, who is the highest church authority in the area and a very good friend to UP, according to Doyle.
After the bells toll the hour, scripture will be read, followed by prayers of intercession.
UP President, the Rev. E. William Beauchamp, C.S.C., along with benefactors Allen and Kathleen Lund, will remark on the importance of the new landmark.
Maureen Briare, the associate director for Music, has written a special hymn for the occasion, which will be performed after the benefactors' remarks.
The bell tower will ring out the school's Alma Mater as the scheduled conclusion to the ceremony.
At least 500 people are expected to be at the dedication. Though Doyle would like students to come, he does not recommend that they skip class in order to do so.
With the bell tower comes new traditions.
The school song will sound at 10 o'clock each night after the dedication to signal the day's end.
Doyle hopes that this tune will enter into the hearts and memories of all UP students, so that they remember the meaning of their experiences long after they leave campus.
"Visually, we've called it an iconic structure," said Doyle. "The Catholic tradition has a long history of bell towers and we think that this one will create a sense of 'place' on campus."
Sophomore Moonwalker Williams agrees with Doyle.
"I didn't understand why they were building this bell tower when the construction first began, but I am slowly beginning to fall in love with it," she said.
"It really makes a powerful statement on campus and it seems like people are drawn to it. The bell tower even makes me feel safe when I'm walking across campus at night," Williams said.
According to Doyle, the Bell Tower Plaza is meant to draw people into its space. He suspects that it will be a place couples go to at the end of their first date, and even goes as far as to speculate that future marriage proposals will happen in the shadow of the structure.
"The bell tower is not a lab, not a class, nobody can live in it, but it stands to inspire and remind," Doyle said.
Doyle is confident the bell tower will serve many good and holy purposes.
The University of Portland staff will use the bells to mark significant moments in university life. Incoming freshman will be brought there to celebrate their first days at UP.
Departing graduates might even congregate there after their closing ceremonies.
If a member of the community dies, the bells will toll one deep solemn note, signifying that someone important has passed from one life to the next.
Mass may begin at the base of the tower on holidays.
The creation of traditions in this spiritual space is now in the hands of the UP community. The first step in designing these new rituals is Friday's blessing and dedication.
