The bells at St. Anne's Parish are once again silent, after a bout with Mother Nature.
When a severe thunderstorm moved over Tecumseh last Tuesday, a bolt of lightning struck the church. What followed was a surge of electricity through the building, destroying electronic mechanisms for the bells, pump organ, security system and computer network.
“We will await what the technician tells us, hopefully it’s just a control component itself,” says Father Eugene Roy. “They'll have to let us know if it’s more than just the operating panel.”
The security system has now been fixed, but the pump organ is another story.
“The pipes and organ console are fine but what are they? If the mechanism is broken, given the extent of the damage to the organ, my suspicion is that it’s a fairly costly repair.”
Roy is assuming the same for the bells in the tower.
He says insurance is expected to cover all of the damage, but they are still waiting for final estimates from experts who can fix the organ and the bells.