The Campanario

The Campanario is 46 feet high and holds the Mission bells. The crown-topped bell on the lower right is named Ava Maria Purisima – Immaculate Mary. It weighs 805 pounds and was cast in 1802. A crown-topped bell was usually supplied by the Spanish King and cast in the royal foundry in Barcelona at the Kings expense or made in a country ruled by Spain. Ava Maria Purisima was in the vestibule of St. Joseph’s church and was hung in the campanario after the reconstruction of Mission San Diego in 1931., The bell on the lower left is called Mater Dolorosa – Our Lady of Sorrows. I weighs 1200 pounds and was recast by the Standard Iron Works of San Diego in 1894 from bell fragments found in the vicinity of the Mission., The bells played an important role in the everyday life of the Mission. A sequence of tones and rhymes was developed for each occasions. They were used to announce times for Mass, work, meals, and siestas. The bells signaled danger, rang solemnly to honor the dead and pealed joyously to celebrate feast days, weddings, and fiestas.