Church Bells Ring as Pope Delivers Blessings in Response to COVID-19

At eleven a.m. Belize time; echoes of churches bells rang across the world. The Catholic churches joined in the event, at the request of Pope Francis, who delivered blessings from Vatican City to bring hope in the face of the horrible coronavirus pandemic. Social distancing is a key preventative tool in the spread of the virus so gatherings have been limited; in Belize no more than ten persons can congregate, which means pews in churches are empty. The churches are now using social media to communicate and transmit services to its flock. Today, we were able to capture some of the bells ringing simultaneously across Belize City and Ladyville. The spiritual gesture says Father Amelio Chi is to remind people that faith in the Holy Trinity will help to heal the world from this pandemic.

Amelio Chi

Father Amelio Chi, Administrator, Our Lady of the Way Catholic Church, Ladyville

“Prayer is central in our life; before the passion of Jesus and his whole life, his ministry was one of prayer. And during his passion is one of the greatest trials, he said pray, pray, pray, pray and pray so that we may not fall to the test. That’s what we are doing and given this pandemic in our country, we also acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the physician of body and soul. There are different instances in scripture where God brought about healing. That is our faith; we believe that God’s word is true. He is infallible. He always fulfils his promises and what we are doing and what our Holy Father, we have all that traditional belief that with faith, god can do miracles. Even in sickness, even in epidemics and pandemic situations, we do believe that. Now of course, nature is one thing, but God still works in nature.”

Duane Moody

“Now the bell was rung for three minutes; talk to us about that.”

Father Amelio Chi

“Yes, I rang it for three minutes, meaning one minute for God our Father, one minute for God, the Son and one minute for God, the Holy Spirit. And then I finished with three just to highlight one for the father, one for the son and one for the spirit.”