“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” John 10:27
Dear Friends,
“We have a Pope!” shouts Margie Winters, our Program Director. “Sister Maria said come on over to the house and see – he hasn’t come out so we don’t know who he is, yet!”
We huddle together in the living room of the historic house, listening intently to the news broadcast. Srs. Maria and Mary lean forward in their chairs, hang on every word, translate the Spanish and Italian. Robert Francis Prevost—an American! They are thrilled that he served in Peru, tickled that he’s Villanova Alumni, inspired by his name choice. “Pope Leo XIV”—indicating a strong commitment to social justice and compassion for the poor. As the Vatican rings their bells, we run outside to ring Cranaleith’s historic bell, too. A united sound of hope, justice and mercy.
Sr. Maria grabs hold of the rope of our historic bell and is almost pulled over by the motion. We laugh and take turns, listening to the bell’s pealing sounds crash down the hill. First used during the “troubles” in Ireland to warn the villagers of violent attack, our historic bell has only been recently restored by Cranaleith’s volunteers who rebuilt its frame, polished the rust, repaired its pull.
On June 6, you will hear our bell ringing, again, as we participate in a city-wide sound installation led by Penn Live Arts. For this Toll the Bell initiative, sites across the city will be ringing bells in memory of the victims of gun violence and to raise awareness for those working to end the violence. At Cranaleith, we will gather around our own ringing bell to listen to the lived stories of gun violence shared by members of our community partners, including those from Mothers-in-Charge, WE: Women Empowered and The Peace Center who share in our grief and hope.
Through Pope Leo’s second homily, we hear him say how important it is “…to listen to others, to know how to build bridges, to know how to listen without judging, not closing the doors thinking that we have all the truth and no-one else can tell us anything.” We hear the clear call of his reminder: “It is very important to listen to the voice of the Lord, to listen to it, in this dialogue, and to see where the Lord is calling us towards.”
May the ringing bell at Cranaleith help us hear who we are called to be and meant to become.
In Peace and Mercy,
Dawn L. Hayward
Executive Director
