Father & Son Volunteer To Fix Bells At Staten Island's Oldest Catholic Church
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The bells atop Staten Island's oldest Catholic church haven't been fully functional in decades, but that's about to change.
Two electricians and a firefighter volunteered to fix the bells, and their work is almost complete.
As CBS2's Elise Finch reported, it's been 30 years since the bells at historic Saint Peter's Church worked properly. Most didn't work at all.
So it's been a very long time since people in the neighborhood heard the bells' song that once played four times a day to remind Catholics to pray a particular prayer.
"It's called the Angelus. It's a prayer to Mary, and it helps us to remember what Jesus did through Mary in order to achieve our salvation," Father Michael Cichon explained.
Earlier this year, members of the Brighton Kiwanis Club enlisted retired electricians Michael Cavanaugh and Tom Binder to volunteer their time and talent to repair the electrical system that controls the bells, clocks and speakers in the church's clock tower.
"Rotted out from the weather, pigeons and time. It was completely dysfunctional, it was actually crumbling," Cavanaugh said.
One day a week, he and Binder hauled tools, cables and themselves to the top of the tower. They had to navigate six stories of old, narrow, rusty iron staircases to do their work.
But on May 12, Binder unexpectedly died in his sleep. So Cavanaugh's son, Daniel, stepped in to help his father finish the job.
"I'll be very proud. It'll be a beautiful, beautiful moment when we hear these bells ring for the first time in 30 years," Daniel said.
Now, the New York City firefighter is working alongside his dad for six to eight hours at a time to repair the bells. When the system is complete, it will be controlled from inside the choir loft.
"The music was so beautiful and inspiring, and I'm looking forward to having it come back," one neighbor told Finch.
"I think it'll bring people maybe back to the church," a parishioner said.
The father and son say it's a labor of love, honoring their friend, the church and the people of Staten Island.
The Cavanaughs expect to complete the bell repair in the next two to three weeks. When they're done, the bells will ring at the top of every hour between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., and full bell songs will play four times each day.
