Articles
Small presentation bell in silvered bronze, decorated with friezes of doves and vines, decorated with the coat of arms of Mgr Grente * then bishop of Le Mans with the motto DUX UTINAM EXEMPLAR, on the other side a Christ on the cross, signed by the Foundry Ronat Chalette Loiret, vintage first half of the 20th century.
This bell is in good condition. It was most likely used as a presentation of a reduced model before the manufacture of a church bell or bumblebee. The Ronat foundries in Chalette (Loiret) are active between 1927 and 1975. It is decorated with the coat of arms of Cardinal Grente, sponsor of this bell (he was then still bishop, see number of tassels on the hat).
A note: missing the arms of Christ, slight silvering in places, some scratches and wear of time, see photos.
is a French cardinal, bishop-archbishop of Mans, academician, historian and essayist. He coordinated an imposing Dictionary of French Letters in several volumes, prefaced in particular by Abel Bonnard, which, updated and republished, is still authoritative today. Pope Benedict XV appointed him Bishop of Le Mans in January 1918. He was consecrated by Cardinal Louis-Ernest Dubois in April. Pope Pius XII appoints him in March 1943 archbishop ad personam, and creates him cardinal during the consistory of January 12, 1953. Cardinal Grente participates in the 1958 conclave which elects the new Pope John XXIII, and dies on May 4, 1959, in Le Mans , at 87, after 41 years at the head of the bishopric of Le Mans. Georges Grente will have, by various initiatives, made shine a diocese of Manceau in bad shape when he took the direction, in 1918: organization of diocesan congresses; attention paid to the recruitment and training of priests; creation of new parishes; frequent visits to parishes and Catholic schools; pastoral letters; brilliance given to religious ceremonies .... In his capacity as a man of letters and member of the French Academy, Georges Grente received at Mans many writers - including candidates for the French Academy - and was asked, thanks to his qualities of speaker to deliver many speeches. In December 1919, the government of Clemenceau, preoccupied with promoting the resumption of educational and charitable works in the Levant and the Balkans, sent there an official mission, entrusted to Cardinal Dubois, and which included Bishop Grente.
Coat of arms of Mgr Grente, Bishop of Le Mans, with the motto: "DIEU AYDA / ET / NOTRE DAME / DUX UTINAM EXEMPLAR".
