ARCHBISHOP Eamon Martin has invited clergy of all denominations to sound their church bells on Easter Sunday "as a call to joy despite the difficult times we are all going through".
Easter, the highpoint of the Christian year, is being celebrated this weekend in unique circumstances, with church doors across Ireland closed because of measures brought in to slow the spread of coronavirus.
Parishes were quick to adopt webcams and other digital technology to share Masses and services online, but Dr Martin said the ringing of bells would be another way to celebrate Easter.
In a letter to clergy in the Archdiocese of Armagh and the Diocese of Dromore, where he is Apostolic Administrator, Dr Martin said that sounding the bells at 12 noon on Sunday would be "a sign of solidarity and hope in the resurrection of Our Lord".
He urged priests to extend the invitation "to congregations in other Christian denominations where there is a custom of bell ringing" by letting ministers and pastors in their areas know.
