ROXAS City – Before dawn of Dec. 21, the parish of the centuries-old Sta. Monica Church in Panay, Capiz rang the Panay Bell – the “biggest Catholic church bell in Southeast Asia” – to commemorate the bell’s 144th anniversary.
“Joined and witnessed by the townsfolk of Panay town and other churchgoers, the bell was rung 144 times – symbolic of the years since it was cast in the 19th century from 70 sacks of gold and silver coins collected from its townsfolk,” read part of the Provincial Tourism and Cultural Affairs Office (PTCAO) social media post.
The Dakung Lingganay is housed in the five-storey belfry of the heritage church and is surrounded by eight other smaller bells.
The big bell is five feet tall, seven feet in diameter and weighs 10,400 kilograms or 10.4 metric tons.
It has a Spanish inscription that reads “Soy la voz de Dios que llevare y ensalzare desde el principio hasta el fin de este pueblo de Panay para que los fieles de Jesus vengan a esta casa de Dios a recibirlas gracias celestials” (“I am God’s voice which shall echo and praise from one end to the other of the town of Panay, so that the faithful followers of Christ may come to this house of God to receive heavenly graces).”
Reportedly, the bell can be heard from eight kilometers distance when it was rung in the earlier days.
The Sta. Monica Church that houses the Panay Bell has been declared a National Historical Landmark by then National Historical Institute now National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP). (PIA Capiz/PTCAO)/PN
