Toponymie | Canton de Potton | Place Names

At the edge of the Saint-Cajetan Catholic Church property, on Main Street, lie the melted remains of a venerable old Church bell, which once proudly called the faithful to worship.  It was installed in the steeple of Saint-Cajetan Church in Mansonville, built in 1919, and destroyed by fire on March 17, 1950.^[1]

The French word cloche  (bell in English) is derived from the Latin clocca , which itself is of Celtic derivation.  When a bell is inaugurated for Church use, it is traditionally consecrated or blessed in a religious ceremony.  In the Catholic tradition, the consecration is called baptism and thus, the bell of which we write, received its name Léon-Antoine-Edmond - on June 2, 1892 in a ceremony conducted by l'abbé N.E. Mailhot, parish priest of Sutton, the Archbishop's delegate.  Catholic tradition considers that the bell speaks or communicates, much as a person does, hence, it receives its own proper name, and as with a child, godparents are also designated for the bell.