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History, Bells & Organ -
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The Italian Heritage and History of Our Church
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the growing Italian immigrant community of Indianapolis congregated largely in a neighborhood just southeast of the city’s downtown area, in relatively close proximity to the City Market where many of them worked. At first, most of the Italian Catholics attended Mass at St. Mary Church downtown, where the majority of parishioners were German. Occasionally, the church was visited by missionaries who would offer services and missions in the Italian language.
In 1909, Bishop Francis Silas Chatard authorized the formation of a new in response to attempts by Methodists to proselytize the city’s Italian community. This “Italian national parish” was formed without formal borders so that anyone of Italian heritage could belong to it. The founding pastor, Father (later Monsignor) Marino Priori quickly built a wood-frame church on the site of what is now our courtyard. Then, in 1911, he laid the foundation of the present building. Architects J. Edwin Kopf and Kenneth K. Woolling based their design on the Church of San Giogio on Via Velabro in Rome, Italy. They used Indiana limestone columns and pilasters to outline the main entrance to a nearly square nave (62 by 65 feet) which can seat a maximum of about 400 people.
Masses were initially offered in the basement while construction continued on the church’s superstructure. Delayed by a lack of funding and the First World War, construction was not completed until 1925 at a cost of around $50,000. Bishop Joseph Chartrand dedicated the church on May 3, 1925.
The economic boom of the 1920s encouraged members of the Italian community to move to better neighborhoods. Membership at our parish declined from 887 in 1923 to 689 by 1933. In those early years, the parish boosted its budget by hosting a traditional lawn fete and bazaar. But in 1934, during the Great Depression, they decided to attract larger crowds by erecting food stands and rides in the street and offering entertainment; thus was born the first incarnation of the parish’s street festival.
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The baby-boom following World War II brought membership to a then-peak of 1,011 in 1950. Soon thereafter, the pharmaceutical manufacturer Eli Lilly & Co. began expanding its property, wiping out homes west of East Street and contributing to another decline in parish membership. The construction of the Interstate highway system further cut into the neighborhood. By 1978, the parish had only 155 members.
Renewed interest in ethnic heritage and a general revival of parish life, strongly fueled by the return of an annual parish street festival in 1984, helped the parish avoid being closed in the 1980s. By the mid-1990s membership was around 400, making Holy Rosary one of only 12 parishes in Marion County with fewer than 1,000 members. One-half of the membership lived outside the immediate neighborhood, and roughly two-thirds were of Italian heritage.
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In 1998, Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein, O.S.B., moved the Tridentine Mass Apostolate – whose members worship using the Church’s traditional Latin liturgy from 1962 – from nearby St. Patrick Church to Holy Rosary. Soon thereafter, the pastor, Monsignor Joseph F. Schaedel, V.G., integrated the members of the TMA into the parish rolls, doubling parish membership. It has continued to grow and now boasts of a membership of nearly 1,300 souls. In 2012, the Anglican Use community came to Holy Rosary. Their members once belonged to the Anglican Communion before “coming home” to the Roman Catholic Church. They brought with them a liturgy very similar to the traditional Anglican liturgy, further adding to the parish’s diversity. The Anglican Use group left Holy Rosary in December 2020 and moved to nearby Good Shepherd Catholic Church.
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Parish life has grown along with the size of the parish roster. These days we have Masses, meetings, services, classes and a whole range of other activities every day of the week throughout the year. Even though the percentage of parishioners with Italian heritage has diminished over the last two decades, the parish has not forgotten its Italian founders and those who kept the parish alive in its lean years. The words of founding pastor, Monsignor Marino Priori, continue to ring true these many years later:
La Chiesa e il tempio del Signore, la porta del cielo; venite, dopo una settimana di cure terrene, dopo tante fatiche, dopo tante tristezze, dopo tanti patimenti, riposate le vostre membra, rigenerate il vostro spirito alle fonti della grazia, innalzate la vostra mente a Dio, ringraziatelo dei benefizzi ricevuti nella creazione e nella vita quotidiana, domandategli forza per poter vincere tutte le lotte della vita, per poter godere dei frutti della redenzione.
Translated from the Italian, here is what Monsignor Priori said:
The church is the temple of the Lord, the gate of heaven. Come after a week of earthly cares, after so much toil, after so many sorrows, after so much pain. Rest your limbs. Regenerate your spirit at the sources of grace. Raise your mind to God; thank Him for the benefits received through His creation and in daily life; ask for strength so you can win all of life’s struggles, and be able to possess the fruits of redemption.
(Much of the information for this article was derived from material published on the website of the Italian Heritage Society of Indiana.)
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The Bells of Holy Rosary
The Bells of Holy Rosary have been heard across the southeast quadrant of downtown Indianapolis for many decades. They ring before and after Mass, happily at weddings, triumphantly during the “Gloria” at Easter Mass, and joyously upon the election of a pope. They daily call us to pray the Angelus at noon and 6 p.m. They also toll sadly for funerals or upon news of the death of a pope or archbishop. As the “voice” of the church building, bells traditionally are given names and are said to be “baptized” – a blessing, in reality.
From the time of their installation until 1946, all six of Holy Rosary’s bells were rung by pulling ropes. Electric motors replaced the ropes in 1946. By 1980 the motor of San Salvador had failed, and ropes were again placed on the bell. New motors were installed on all the bells, including San Salvador, in 1987. Gus Stinnett and his family spent many hours working on these motors and the bells over the ensuing years, and we owe them much gratitude.
In early 2009 parishioners Mark Fricker and Jerry Friederick — with valuable assistance from master-electrician Brian Kelly and guidance from Gus Stinnett — headed up an effort to replace the motors with state-of-the-art equipment. The work was completed in July 2009, once again giving voice to the full complement of bells at Holy Rosary Church. In March 2021, Lee Manufacturing of Muskego, Wisconsin, upgraded the software to make our bells ring "like clockwork" on the hour, for the Angelus, and before Masses.
Here we provide a brief description and history of the six residents of our twin bell towers:
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San Salvador
The second-largest free-swinging bell in the State of Indiana hangs in our west tower. Named “San Salvador” after the island upon which Christopher Columbus first landed in the New World in 1492, its deep note can be heard over the other bells when all are ringing. It is also the bell used to toll at funerals and to sound the notes of the Angelus every afternoon and evening.
San Salvador was cast in 1923 at the Old Buckeye Bell Foundry of the E.W. Vanduzen Co. in Cincinnati, Ohio. The bell weighs 7,000 lbs., the clapper weighs 300 lbs., and the yoke and stand for the bell weigh 3,000 lbs. A bell at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend is the only one larger in Indiana.
Thanks to a polishing in 2008 by parishioner Ryne Friederick and a team of Boy Scouts, San Salvador gleams majestically when the sun’s rays catch it. The inscription (exactly as it appears) on the north face of the bell reads:
To
Christopher Columbus
The Discoverer of America
The pure glory of Italy and of the Church of Christ
This Bell, San Salvador, is dedicated with a modest tribute
from the
Italian Catholic Colony
and Eternal Light Magazine
In the Year A.D. 1923. Pope Pius XI Apostolic Delegate of the
United States, Archbishop Pietro Fumasoni Biondi. Bishop of
Indianapolis, Rt. Rev. Joseph Chartrand, D.D., Pastor of Holy Rosary
Church, Rev. Marino Priori President of United States, Calvin Coolidge.
Governor of Indiana, Warren McCray Mayor of Indianapolis,
Samuel Lewis Shank.
Protector of this Bell, St. Michael the ArchangelThe inscription on the south face of the bells reads:
San Salvador
Donated by
Eternal Light Magazine
which has been blessed by three Popes
Vatican February 27th, 1914
To the Editor and subscribers of Eternal Light we heartily impart
the Apostolic Benediction.
Pius X, PP.
Vatican August 22nd, 1919
To our beloved son D. Marino Priori, (Editor of Eternal Light
Magazine) and to all his parishioners of Indianapolis we impart
from our heart the Apostolic Benediction.
Benedictus XV PP.
Vatican Sept 30th, 1922
His Holiness sends to you his blessing and encouragement in the
praiseworthy activity you display in the holy propaganda of your
Eternal Light, to which as to yourself and all its readers and
benefactors, he heartily imparts his Apostolic Benediction.
P.C. Gasparri.
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San Salvador is raised to the top of Holy Rosary's west tower in 1924, one year before the completion of the church.
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Saint Joseph, in the bottom tier of the east tower, was defaced long ago by vandals, probably during the time when the Latin School minor seminary was here in the 60s and 70s.
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Saint Joseph
The largest bell in our east tower is named after St. Joseph, the foster father of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the patron saint of Sicily, the birthplace of the largest number of Italian immigrants who founded this parish. It weighs 3,000 lbs. and has the following inscription:
Saint Joseph
Indianapolis, Indiana
A.D. 1923
Donated by Caito Families
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Saint Anthony
Weighing 1,000 lbs., the second-largest bell in our east tower is predictably named after a beloved Italian saint, Anthony of Padua, a statue of whom resides in the northwest corner of our nave. The inscription on this bell reads:
Saint Anthony
Indianapolis, Indiana
A.D. 1923
Donated by M. Jardina
G. Straffa
G. & E. Paltani
G. Mascari
Bruno Bros.
Bisesi Bros.
R. Gatto
Ferracane Bros.
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Saint Anthony resides in the bottom tier of the east tower.
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In the upper tier of the east tower are the three smallest bells, Saint Francis, Saint Rita and Assumpta.
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Saint Francis of Assisi
Three bells hang on the upper tier in the east tower, and the largest of these “small” bells is named after St. Francis of Assisi, the patron of Italy. It weighs 900 lbs. and is inscribed:
Saint Francis of Assisi
Indianapolis, Indiana
A.D. 1923
Donated by
various men of
Holy Rosary Church
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Saint Rita
The smallest of the five bells cast for Holy Rosary in 1923 by the Buckeye Bell Foundry resides in the east tower and is named after St. Rita of Cascia, an Italian peasant who lived in the 14th and 15th centuries, and who was canonized in 1900, a mere nine years before Holy Rosary Parish was founded. The bell weighs 600 lbs. Its inscription reads:
Saint Rita
Indianapolis, Indiana
A.D. 1923
Donated by
Eternal Light Magazine
Rev. Marino Priori, Editor
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Assumpta est Maria in Cœlum
The smallest bell in the east tower is older than the rest of Holy Rosary’s bells. Its Italian name is translated “Mary is Assumed into Heaven” (or “The Assumption”). It weighs 300 lbs. and was cast in 1909 at the Stuckstede Bell Foundry in St. Louis, Mo. This bell first hung in the tower of the original Holy Rosary Church, a frame chapel located about where the courtyard of our current church sits. Its inscription reads:
Assumpta est Maria in Cœlum Bell
Italian Catholic Church
Holy Rosary
Indianapolis, Indiana
May 2, 1909
Pastor, Rev. Marino Priori
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The Organ of Holy Rosary
The new pipe organ for Holy Rosary Catholic Church was designed and built by Schreiner Pipe Organs, Ltd. of Schenectady, New York. The majority of the 1,792 pipes, comprising the Great, Swell, and Pedal divisions of the organ, are housed where the original organ lived, in a newly-built chamber above the choir loft. An additional division, called the Continuo Organ, is located on the wall of the choir loft. It is designed to give direct support to the choir. The entire organ is controlled from a moveable oak console of two manuals and pedal in the choir loft. The Great and Swell pipes are controlled by electric-pulldown slider windchests similar to those used in mechanical-action pipe organs. Pedal, Continuo, and shared pipes are controlled with electro-pneumatic or electro-mechanical valves. The console communicates with the valves through a Solid State control system.
The organ reuses 367 pipes and adds 1,425 new pipes to create an instrument with a wide variety of tone colors for leading hymns, accompanying the choir, and playing interludes and voluntaries suitable for the liturgy. The reused pipes were adjusted to blend with their new counterparts.
The Great division is located just inside the chamber behind the working façade pipes that are part of the Great 8’ Open Diapason. The Great principal chorus forms the tonal backbone of the organ.
Other stops in the division include the bold Flûte harmonique modeled after solo flutes in the French romantic tradition, the softer Bourdon, Gedeckt, and Flöte from the original Kilgen organ, and the gentle, stringy Gemshorn stop from an old set of pipes. The Trumpet adds a reedy edge to the ensemble tone.
The Pedal has two independent 16’ voices in the flute Subbass and the Trombone, and it reuses the Kilgen Open Diapason at 8’ and 4’ pitch. The Swell division is housed in a sturdy wooden box with adjustable louvers to let the organist control the volume. It includes a secondary principal chorus, string stops from the Kilgen organ, and a charming flute chorus with the harmonic Flûte octaviante and Octavin and appropriate mutations. The Oboe, and its Bassoon and Shawm extensions, functions both as a sweet solo voice and a supporting ensemble sound, available in the Pedal as well as the Swell.
The Continuo division is based on the oak Stopped Diapason in the façade, which gives articulate and transparent support to the choir. The gentle Dulciana from the Kilgen, and the tapered Spire Flute and Recorder add depth and brightness to the division. The entire organ is tuned in Fisk II temperament, a mildly unequal temperament that allows music to be played in all keys but gives special clarity to the keys commonly found in earlier music.
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24 Independent Voices, 1,792 Pipes
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Great Manual 1
Great Manual I
16’ Bourdon
8’ Open Diapason
8’ Flûte harmonique
8’ Gemshorn
8’ Gedeckt ext.
4’ Octave
4’ Flöte ext.
2’ Superoctave
Mixture IV-V
8’ Trumpet -
Console
A moveable oak console, two manuals and pedal. Manuals 61 notes, CC – c4. Pedal 32 notes, CC – g1. Manual naturals of grenadilla, sharps of bone-capped rosewood.
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Key Action
Electric key action controlling electric pulldown slider windchests for Great and Swell, electro- pneumatic and electro-mechanical valves for Pedal, Continuo, and shared ranks.
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Swell Manual II
(Enclosed)
8’ Viole de gambe
8’ Rohrflöte
8’ Voix celeste
4’ Prestant
4’ Flûte octaviante
2 2/3’ Nasard
2’ Octavin
1 3/5’ Tierce
Plein jeu 2’ + III
16’ Bassoon
8’ Oboe ext.
4’ Shawm ext. -
Couplers Etc.
Swell to Great
Continuo to Great
Continuo to Swell
Swell Off
Great to Pedal
Swell to Pedal
Continuo to Pedal
Tremulant
Balanced Swell Pedal
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Continuo Floating
8’ Stopped Diapason
8’ Dulciana
4’ Spire Flute
2’ Recorder ext. -
Pedal (32 notes)
16’ Subbass
16’ Bourdon (Gt)
10 2/3’ Resultant ext.
8’ Principal
8’ Gedeckt (Gt)
4’ Octave ext.
16’ Trombone
16’ Bassoon (Sw)
8’ Oboe (Sw)
4’ Shawm (Sw) -
Stop Action
Electric stop action and Solid State combination system with 100 memory levels.
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