“May the sound of the Wenceslas Bell have the power to fight off evil”
6. 3. 2017After its consecration in the Cathedral of St. Vitus, Wenceslas and Adalbert and accompanied by small bells ringing during the procession, the Wenceslas Bell continued to the Church of St. Havel in the Old Town where it was officially lifted up to the tower.
In her speech, Mrs. Dagmar Havlová said:
Dear Guests, Dear Friends,
I remember the famous inscription on a bell in the Swiss town of Schaffhausen: “I call the living and mourn the dead.” These words come to my mind in connection with this bell that is called Wenceslas and bears the inscription of my husband, President Václav Havel: “Truth and love must overcome lies and hatred.” May the sound of this bell call the living to stand on the side of civil and human rights, humanism and freedom. May its sound mourn the dead so that nobody who paid a price for our freedom would be forgotten. Since time immemorial, people have believed that the ringing of bells can fight off evil. May the sound of the Wenceslas Bell have such power.
