[CPProt.net] 279-yr-old bell stolen in Cagayan

[MSN CPPnet (Ton Cremers)]

http://news.inq7.net/regions/index.php?index=1&story_id=56049


279-yr-old bell stolen in Cagayan
First posted 01:41am (Mla time) Nov 10, 2005 
By 
Inquirer News Service 


TUGUEGARAO CITY-A 279-year-old bell was stolen from its belfry in a church
in Gattaran, Cagayan on Sunday night, police said.

The bell, called "Santa Maria" and forged in 1726, is important to the
town's history because it was installed in the belfry of the Nassiping
Church (also called the San Miguel Archangel church) when Nassiping was
founded as a town on June 15, 1596, local records showed.

The areas covering Nassiping were later merged with Barangay Dummun and
Gattaran town proper, and the former town was converted into a village of
Gattaran.

Information from the Cagayan website said Cagayanos learned the art and
craft of calligraphy from Spanish priests at the Nassiping Church.

Police said residents on Sunday night reported that they heard the church
bell ringing. The residents then heard the sound of a vehicle leaving the
church compound.

The police set up teams to scour junk shops in this city, more than 60 km
from Gattaran, as the thieves could sell them to junk collectors.

The police also asked priests and church workers in Cagayan parishes that
keep centuries-old bells to stay on alert and safeguard the relics.