Sacred Heart's new bell has a familiar ring to it. By Bob Liepa, Staff Writer State Port Pilot
Feb 21, 2024 On a bitterly cold morning in Southport, there was an event to warm the hearts of Sacred Heart Catholic Church parishioners.
Eight months after it was removed from the roof of a private home, an 82-year-old church bell was returned to Sacred Heart Catholic Church, where it now sits atop a new portico.
The bell was donated to the church by Mimi and Tom Gregory of Southport, owners of the North Caswell Street home that had been the site of the church before it moved to its current location at Dosher Cutoff SE in 1991.
The church had dedicated the bell on May 4, 1941.
Becky and the late Bert Felton purchased the North Caswell Road property in 1993 and began renovating it in January of 1995. The renovation was completed that September. They remodeled the church to be their home while retaining the character of the original building and restoring the bell.
Last June a team of five parish volunteers removed the two-by-two-foot bell, which weighed about 200 pounds.
On Feb. 7, Charles Bruce and John Mattel, both of St. James, joined forces with Ryan Kiniry of Southport, Joe Reilly of Oak Island and Tom Watson of Boiling Spring Lakes to lift the bell atop the portico and install it in a bell tower.
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“It looks awesome,” Reilly said. “With that blue sky behind it, it looks amazing.”
It was easier placing the bell in its new home than it was taking it down from its previous location, in part because the refurbished bell is some 20 pounds lighter since pieces of it were removed.
“It went up there pretty quick,” said Bruce.
The bell also looks different: it has been sandblasted and painted gold.
“The accent of the color with the black, it looks like it’s been a part of the church this whole entire time,” Kiniry said. “You know, it just looks beautiful.
“Now I just can’t wait to hear what it sounds like before mass.”
When the work was completed, Bruce and others took photos of the church’s newest addition.
“It came out great,” he said. “I envisioned it just the way it is. I wanted it to look like it was built when the church was built, and I think we accomplished that.”
