The pilgrim bell “Voice of the Unborn,” for Zambia
“Voice of the Unborn" Bell
...to be launched on the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
On 22nd March 2023, before the beginning of the General Audience in Pope’s Square, Vatican, Pope Francis blessed a bell known as “Voice of the Unborn” for Zambia, which was donated by the “Yes to Life” Foundation of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Poland.
The Bell, which arrived in Zambia two years ago, will be officially launched at the Marian Shrine on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Thereafter, it will embark on a pilgrimage across dioceses, parishes, and Christian communities, accompanying various pastoral activities aimed at promoting and deepening awareness of the sanctity and dignity of every human life- from natural conception to natural death.
The pilgrimage seeks to inspire renewed commitment to the Gospel of Life and foster a culture that upholds, protects, and cherishes the sacred gift of life at every stage. At the end of such activities, adults who pledge to defend the sanctity of human life will be invited to ring the bell as a solemn and conscious commitment to uphold and defend the dignity of every human life from natural conception to natural death.
The Holy Father pointed out that the “Voice of the Unborn” bell is a reminder of the need to protect life from conception to natural death. “As a sign of the need to protect human life from conception to natural death, the “Yes to life” Foundation is donating to Zambia the “Voice of the Unborn”, a bell I have blessed. May its sound carry the message that every life is sacred and inviolable”, said Pope Francis at the General Audience.
The “Voice of the Unborn” bells already ring in Poland, Ukraine, and Ecuador. Pope Francis blessed all of them and was the first to strike each of them. In 2024, the fifth bell for Kazakhstan was crafted. Other countries, which include France, Mexico, and Nicaragua have also expressed interest in this initiative. At the bell blessing ceremony held in front of the Paul VI Hall, Archbishop of Lusaka, Most Rev. Dr. Alick Banda was part of the delegation alongside the “Yes to Life” Foundation.
The Bell "Voice of the Unborn"Where did this idea comes from? The founder and originator of the project, who is also the vice-president of the Foundation in Poland, Bogdan Romaniuk, said that the idea of the “Voice of the Unborn” bell was born from sad and terrifying statistics. “When I read,” admitted Romaniuk, “that 50 million children are killed by abortion in the world every year, it made me think about how we, as a foundation, how we as Catholics can get involved in the fight to change these bad statistics. I wish that the bell “Voice for the Unborn” is like a spark of fire starting from Poland and spreading throughout the world, and cries for the reflection to reduce abortion in the world until it is completely stopped”.
When blessing the first pilgrim bell, Holy Father, Pope Francis said: “May its sound awaken the consciences of law-makers and all people of good will in Poland and around the world. The bell will accompany events aimed at reminding about the value of human life from conception to natural death. May God, the only and true Giver of life, bless you and your families.”
The “Yes to life” Foundation’s idea is that the bell is designed to pilgrim through dioceses, parishes, and Christian communities participating in different pastoral activities to raise awareness of the sanctity of life from natural conception to natural death. At the end of such activities, adults who declare that they will defend life will be able to ring the bell.
This is not supposed to be an empty attraction but a conscious commitment to defend life. In our days, it turns out that it is not wars, not calamities, not diseases, not even pandemics that take such a large number of people; unfortunately, it is abortion, which is a terrible drama and tragedy. The world does not see it at all. It does not announce a pandemic of abortion, which is spreading widely.
The "Voice of the Unborn" is an initiative whose primary goal is to take action to defend human life. The bell is the answer to the constant need to sensitize and stimulate society to defend the inalienable right to life of a conceived child.
The symbolism on the Zambian bell. The symbolism of the bell in Zambia focuses on the theme of unborn life. The name of the bell is “Voice of the Unborn”. Looking right, in addition to the bell’s name, two stone tables are visible, referring to the Ten Commandments.
On the first one, there are words of Christ: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law.” And on the second one there is the 5th commandment "You shall not kill.” In this way, the founder of the bell wants to communicate that all commandments, but especially the fifth, are inalienable.
All the commandments are in force, valid, and confirmed by the Son of God. Then, there is an ultrasound image of a conceived child guarded by two cherubim with the words from the Book of Jeremiah: "Before I formed you in your mother’s womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you,” What we want to convey, explains the founder and originator of the bell, is that God intervenes at every conception.
So anyone who raises a hand to a conceived child must be aware of what they are doing. The third element of the bell decoration has two bishop’s rings joined with a golden ring with inscriptions: “a sign of the spiritual bond between the Roman Catholic Church in Zambia and in Poland, Warsaw 17th May 1970” On May 17, 1970 at St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Warsaw, during the celebration of the Holy Mass, the Primate of Poland, Stefan Cardinal Wyszyński and Archbishop of Lusaka Emmanuel Milingo, took a symbolic act of union between the Churches of Poland and Zambia represented by Stefan Cardinal Wyszyński bishop’s ring and Archbishop Milingo bishop’s ring, joined with a golden ring put on the altar.
There is another very important symbolism at the bottom and the top. The bell is decorated with an ornament in the shape of a DNA chain for parents. At the top is the father's DNA chain, and at the bottom is the mother's. It meant to symbolize the genetic code of parents—a woman and a man, a mother and a father of a new life.
On top of the bell is a crown made of the angels guarding the bell and the unborn child. The “Voice of the Unborn" bell weighs one ton, has a diameter of approximately 1.2 meters, and is in the key of F1. It can be included in the category of larger bells with a definitely serious, bass sound. The production of the bell lasted several months.
