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The university’s “Sister Bell” appeared on the “Fox and Friends” show on October 3 and was part of the Visitors Center Liberty Bell exhibit in Philadelphia from October 7-14.

In March 1754, Agent Robert Charles ordered a new bell from the Whitechapel bell foundry in London, England, the same company that cast the Liberty Bell. This new “Sister Bell,” originally intended to replace the cracked Liberty Bell, possessed very similar features to the older bell. Therefore, instead of replacing the Liberty Bell with the newer model, both bells were hung in the Pennsylvania State House (Independence Hall) in Philadelphia. While the Liberty Bell rang on special occasions, the Assembly attached the Sister Bell to the State House clocks.

In 1830, city officials began renovations on Independence Hall. Olde St. Augustine Church bought the “Sister Bell” and displayed it in its chapel belfry. However, the bell suffered damage when the church was set on fire by anti-Catholics in 1844. Part of the bell was salvaged, recast three years later, and sent to Villanova for safe keeping.

The bell served the university several times during its early history. At the centennial observances, celebrated by His Eminence Dennis Cardinal Dougherty, Archbishop of Philadelphia, the bell rang to open the ceremony. In 1954, during Villanova’s Development Program, the university held an exhibit at Gimbel’s department store in Philadelphia, featuring the “Sister Bell” and models of the projected new buildings for campus.
The “Sister Bell” is on permanent display in Falvey Memorial Library.