It began in France when the Archbishop of Paris called for all of the city’s church bells to ring in unison to show their solidarity with the world during the difficult and uncertain situation of the COVID-19 pandemic that came to Europe in late February 2020. Originally only going to be a one-time thing in March, several other cities around France also began ringing their church bells. Next, church bells in Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, and even Canada began ringing their bells as well. What had been intended as a one time display of solidarity had become a worldwide symbol of hope. Even as we write this in April 2020, more and more church buildings have been ringing their bells. But this is not just limited to church bells. Mosques, particularly in Germany, have been conducting their call to prayer to show their support. There was even a case in Berlin where a church and a mosque, situated close together, coordinated in order to ring their bells and do their call to prayer at the same time, in a heart-warming scene of interreligious cooperation. Several churches have also been ringing their bells for reasons other than just showing solidarity. A church in Ireland rang its bells to show its support for frontline workers, and a church in Canterbury rang its oldest bell as a symbol of perseverance. These sounds of solidarity teach us a lesson in addition to inspiring hope in our communities. What these ancient buildings show us is that despite the many hardships they have seen in the past centuries, our religious buildings and our cultural heritage can and will survive the hardship we currently find ourselves in. This movement has shown the world yet another reason why it is important to protect and preserve our religious heritage.
We have compiled below a list of examples of churches and other religious buildings showing their solidarity. It is important to note that there is a growing number of religious buildings that are showing their solidarity even as we write this article:
Rhode Island, USA: http://www.thericatholic.com/stories/bishop-tobin-asks-church-bells-to-ring-in-solidarity-on-sunday-mornings,11555
Bologna: https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20200314-016
Netherlands: https://northerntimes.nl/church-bells-ring-out-across-the-netherlands-as-symbol-of-hope/
German Mosque: https://www.dailysabah.com/turkey/diaspora/mosque-in-germany-joins-call-to-prayer-to-raise-morale-amid-virus-lockdown
Berlin Mosque and Church: https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20200403-039
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