North Jersey Church Bells Will Ring To Show Love For Immigrants

NEWARK, NJ — If you hear church bells tolling on Sunday in North Jersey, there’s a good chance that somebody nearby is showing their support for immigrants.

On Friday, the Newark Archdiocese’s new archbishop and potential pope successor – Cardinal Joseph Tobin - invited all 214 parishes of the archdiocese to ring their bells on the morning of Sunday, March 19 in “opposition to the incredible fear that is being generated worldwide toward immigrants and refugees.”

The effort is part of the international “Joy of Bells” initiative, a movement by people of faith throughout the world against “anti-immigrant sentiment,” according to a statement from the Newark Archdiocese.

The Newark Archdiocese encompasses the counties of Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Union, and includes about 1.5 million Catholics.

“It actually is fitting that March 19 is chosen as the day for this event, since traditionally the Catholic Church observes the Feast of St. Joseph on that day,” Tobin wrote to pastors in the archdiocese. “As we all know, St. Joseph, in whom was entrusted the care of Jesus and his mother, Mary, understood first-hand the trials and terrors of being a refugee and emigrant, forced from his own land by people wishing to do the Holy Family harm.”

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Many have also noted that the Joy of Bells also occurs during the weekend of the celebration of the Feast of St. Patrick, who was an immigrant to Ireland, first as a slave, and then as a missionary, the archdiocese stated.

Parishes are free to choose at what time they will join in the demonstration of solidarity with people of faith throughout the world in the Joy of Bells, so long as the ringing occurs during the morning of March 19, the archdiocese stated.

The bells of the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, the mother church of the archdiocese, will peal at 10:15 a.m., the archdiocese stated.

Tobin’s announcement isn’t the only recent pro-immigrant effort in the archdiocese under his leadership. In December, the archdiocese announced plans to resettle 51 asylum seekers from several nations in 2017.

“There is no political agenda there… this is just what the church does,” archdiocese spokesman Jim Goodness told NorthJersey.com.

The archdiocese’s announcement came about a month after the appointment of Tobin, who made national headlines last year when he said that his archdiocese would continue to welcome Syrian refugees in Indiana despite moves against resettlement by then-Gov. Mike Pence.

• See related article: Will The Next Pope Come From NJ? New Archbishop Appointed In Newark

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File photo courtesy of Rutgers University / Photo by Dennis Connors