The Phenomenon of the Bell Tower
It is called The Phenomenon of the Bell Tower because the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a natural phenomenon. We didn’t know it at the time and it caused quite a stir. Mary Lou Martinez, a long-time parishioner, was the first person to see the strange shadow in the Bell Tower. Below is her first person account of how it all came about. - Editor
It all began in 1998, St. Helen had just been assigned a new priest, Father Martinez and he gave his blessing to organize a 3-day Cursillo retreat.
It was at the end of this 3 day men’s retreat that, my husband, Deacon Ackerly, and I stood making arrangements for the women’s retreat. I was facing the Church, and looking up to the Bell tower saw the image. I excitedly pointed at the image, and said I wonder who put a statue of our Blessed Mother Up there!! Deacon Ackerly immediately dropped to his knees and made the sign of the cross. We asked Father Martin to come see. His response was we needed to keep this quiet till after the Retreat. We were having Mananitas at 5:00 AM after which it was still dark and an Alter Boy overheard our conversation and the chaos began.
In the early evening, people, TV stations, Newspaper Reporters, and more than 200 waited and watched for the image to appear. Some folks did not know exactly what to look for, but as night fell and it got darker, suddenly an image of our Lady appeared on the right side of the bell. During daylight some people say they are able to see the head and face of Jesus on the Bell itself. Some did not see the image at all. It was and still is a truly remarkable experience, one that I will never forget.
Eventually a study was commissioned to determine if it might be of supernatural origin. Of course, we now know it’s natural phenomenon, but exactly how is anyone’s guess.
To this day the faithful continue to come to the church at dusk to pray.
Editorial Comment
Although The Phenomenon of the Bell Tower is a natural occurrence, it still touches the hearts of the faithful. People are willing to embrace that there is something very special at work here.
Future Pastors have continually supported people coming to the church to view the image, particularly those new to the parish.
