While living in Antigua, Guatemala, Caroline Becker Long, M.D. began researching the church bells in Sacatepequez. She has now compiled the information of 122 bells into a book, written in both English and Spanish, Church Bells of Antigua/Campanas de las Iglesias de Antigua. The book tells of the history of this form of communication, the bell makers and how bells are made and the history contained in the inscriptions on the bells.

Church bells ring to indicate the hours of Mass, to accompany a funeral procession, to celebrate church festivals or to announce any special news. Long climbed up into the belfries of 32 churches, recorded bell measurements and inscriptions and made rubbings for the documentation of 122 bells in the Department of Sacatepequez, in an effort to preserve this region’s unique history through the artwork and inscriptions on the bells, much of it seen by only the few who climb into the belfries.

The oldest bell of the region is dated 1681 and rings from the church in Santo Tomas Milpas Altas. There is no indication of the bell maker. The next oldest bells are found in the villages of Santiago Zamora, Santa Catarina Barahona, the San Francisco Church in Antigua and Santa Maria de Jesus.

The art of casting bells is a specialty of only a few blacksmiths. There are 21 different names on the 122 bells studied. Two bells were imported, from London and Spain. There are three main Guatemalan families of fundidores, bell makers: Klee, Vassaux and Goméz. The artwork on many of the bells shows the true craftsmanship involved in casting a bell. And the inscriptions of the bells reveal history preserved.

The book includes a document, written in 1802, describing the correspondence via Havana to the Pope regarding excessive abuse of the ringing of bells in Guatemala.

"It is intolerable to Christians, this general racket of the bells; because of which, the peace and serenity of the healthy is disturbed, the quietness which the ill require is miserably offended, the minds of each and every person, instead of being stimulated and taking refuge in devotion, are dulled. Bell-ringing, which formerly was done by priests in imitation of the sons of Aaron, whom in the ancient law God entrusted to sound the trumpet to gather together the Hebrew people, now, we are seeing it pitifully transferred to young lads, and the common people, who play games with the bells; now striving to imitate profane sounds, and now disturbing the communities with indecent signals from the bell towers."