Our parish has bells which ring three times daily.
We wanted information on when they should ring otherwise. Any rules on ringing for funerals, etc?
The only rule concerning bell ringing
that I know of is that the church bells are to be rung during the gloria at Mass on Holy Thursday and then not rung again until the Easter Vigil. (This can be
found in the Sacramentary in the rubrics for Holy Thursday.)
The 1917 Code of Canon Law stated that bells were not to be rung for profane purposes unless absolutely necessary, with the Ordinaries permission,
or in accord with legitimate custom. It was also forbidden to ring funeral bells on days when funeral Masses were forbidden and on days when a High Mass was forbidden.
There are no such restrictions in the 1983 Code of Canon Law but the principles are still sound.
Traditionally bells are rung three times a day for the Angelus and prior to Mass.
A ruling in 1958 by the Congregation of Rites said that it is forbidden "to use in place of blessed bells any kind of mechanical means to imitate or amplify their sound." This statement was reaffirmed in 1967 and has not been changed.
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