InSPIREd Sunday - Church of St. Joseph

The Church of St. Joseph in St. Joseph, Minnesota is a beautiful church. Built in 1867, the lower half is composed of native field stones and the upper part is granite brick obtained from a nearby quarry. The church became the first consecrated church in Minnesota on June 29, 1871. What you see here is the original exterior although the interior has undergone several renovations with the last being in 1971.

The bell tower on St. Joseph's has the world's only operating Schwalbach Mechanical Clock that rings an Angelus Bell.  This historical clock is still in its original operating condition. (from the Church's website).

The clock was built in 1906 by Mathias Schwalbach, a master builder of tower clocks from the Rhine Country.  Although six clocks with Angelus bells were made, the clock in the bell tower at the Church of Saint Joseph is the only one still functioning as originally designed.

According to the original catalog citation, the clock shows the time on four faces that are each five feet tall.  The quarter hours are struck on two bells and the hours are struck on a bell weighing 3500 pounds.  The Angelus bell rings three times each day — at 6:00 am, 12:00 noon and 6:00 pm.

Linking up to InSPIREd Sunday, a weekly meme highlighting great architecture of religious buildings.