St. Augustine, Fla. – The Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine recently received a grant from the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust. The $40,000 gift will be used to assist in the renovation of the four bells in the Cathedral’s Bell Tower and to replace the clock mechanism.

“All eight bells of the Cathedral are presently silent,” said Father Thomas Willis, rector of the Cathedral. “Numerous lightning strikes over the years have caused that. What people hear now is a digital carillon that was installed in the 1990’s. This grant will help us get the four bells in the tower ringing again.”

Father Willis noted that the tower clock stopped working in the fall of 2011. “When the Cathedral was renovated in the mid-1960’s, the time-keeping mechanism was not replaced. We have been told that it dates from the 1930’s. There is no way for it to be repaired anymore, so we are grateful to the generosity of the Kenan Trust for assisting us with both projects.”

William Rand Kenan, Jr. was the brother-in-law of Henry Morrison Flagler. The Trust was established following Mr. Kenan’s death in 1965 and continues to engage in charitable grant-making, most often with the focus on education.

The bell tower was added during the Cathedral’s reconstruction following the fire of 1887. Flagler gave $65,000 to build the tower and for the installation of the clock and the four bells. During the renovation of the Cathedral for St. Augustine’s 400^th anniversary in 1965, three of the original bells were removed and re-timbered by the I.T. Verdin Company of Cincinnati, Ohio. The fourth, and largest of the bells, weighing in at 1,500 pounds and 41 inches in diameter, was cracked and could not be repaired. It was replaced with a bell of similar proportions.

There are four additional bells in the Cathedral’s façade that can be seen in niches over the church’s front door. Father Willis said the parish hopes to be able to get these bells ringing again in time for the City of St. Augustine’s 450^th anniversary in 2015.

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A gala fundraiser is scheduled for 7 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 1, at the Lightner Museum, 75 King Street, St. Augustine. The gala, hosted by Bishop Felipe J. Estévez of St. Augustine, is open to the public. Cost is $100 per person. Tickets will go on sale the end of this month. Call the Cathedral at (904) 824-2806, ext. 303 to purchase tickets. Father Willis said these efforts will help raise money to rehabilitate the four façade bells as well as to paint and repair water damage to the exterior and interior of the Cathedral and repair some significant water damage. For additional information about the renovations, call Father Tom Willis at (904) 824-2806, ext. 303.