Felix Madonna Silvester: The Visionary behind the Bell
A visionary dream once jolted Felix ‘Madonna’ Silvester awake and ever since, he’s had a habit of sketching solutions to complex problems on paper as soon as they strike his mind. It was through one such divine vision that the idea for ‘Pulsator’, an electro-mechanical system designed to automate the chiming of church bells, took shape, a mechanism that has since replaced manual effort with precision and ritualistic accuracy in summoning divine grace through bell tolls across urban and rural churches for centuries.
Felix’s home parish, the Holy Family Church in South Chittoor on the outskirts of Ernakulam city, was renovated in 2010. While the local community came together and raised nearly four crore rupees for the renovation project, Felix, who served as the chairman of the church souvenir committee, not only contributed financially but also contemplated how best he could dedicate his high-tech skills in electronics for the benefit of the church.
During the era when European Carmelite missionaries, based in Varapuzha, were fully immersed in pastoral care and the sanctification of the people of Kerala, Felix’s grandfather, Perumesthiri from Veliparambil, Cheranalloor, was a cherished disciple of the Belgian Carmelite church architect Brother Leo. Perumesthiri played a key role in the construction of three renowned basilicas along the Ernakulam coastal belt, the Basilica of Our Lady of Ransom in Vallarpadam, the Basilica of Our Lady of Snow in Pallipuram, and the Mount Carmel, St. Joseph Church in Varapuzha, along with many other churches including the St. Joseph Pontifical Seminary in Mangalapuzha, Aluva.
A seasoned electronics engineering expert, he worked with Sony Corporation’s Entertainment, Technology, and Services Division in Japan, winning the Asia-Pacific region’s Best Service Center Award for six consecutive years from 1992 to 1998. Since 1987, he has been the driving force behind Madonna Electronics.
The Trials of Automation
After two years of rigorous trials and several fiery challenges, Madonna Electronics finally introduced the fully indigenous, trademarked and patented “Pulsator” to the market in 2012. Its primary aim was to automate church bells while preserving the original bells in their traditional bell towers, making them chime accurately and even more melodiously, without burdening the sacristan.
Felix’s goal was clear: to find a solution that would enable the old church bell to ring perfectly even before the parish church’s renovation was complete. But he also wanted to ensure there were no canonical obstacles to automating the church bell. For this, he first approached three respected church figures: his maternal uncle Msgr. George Veliparambil, who was living in retirement at Avila Bhavan, Attipetty Nagar in Kakkanad; Msgr. Ambrose Araykkal, who taught him that the church bell is the voice of the church that calls us to divine presence; and Msgr. Paul Figarado, former director of Little Flower Engineering Institute, Kalamassery, who had guided Felix into the electronics field.
Msgr. Ambrose referred to page 79 of Arnos Padiri’s Code of Canon Law, which details the purpose of ringing the bell 33 times daily, morning, noon, and evening, for the Angelus prayer (3 times with a pause, repeated thrice), and six single chimes for praying for souls, all symbolizing the 33 redemptive years of Jesus Christ. Even when churches remain closed and sacraments suspended, such as during the COVID-19 lockdown, this requirement for bell ringing stands firm. It was this scriptural directive that inspired Felix to develop a Pulsator mode allowing uninterrupted operation of crucifix and funeral bell modes, even during such restrictions.
Different tones and sequences of church bells serve various occasions: three bells to invite the faithful to the Holy Mass, a bell during the most sacred part of the liturgy, chants for Te Deum and thanksgiving hymns, procession bells for feasts, and bells for sacraments like baptism, marriage, and death. In some places, the bell sequences even differentiate between the deaths of children, adults, men, and women. The bell patterns vary for the death of a layperson, a priest, a bishop, or the Pope.
The history of “campanology”, the study of bells, their casting, tuning, and ringing techniques, dates back to the church bell installed by Bishop Paulinus in Nola, Campania, Italy around AD 400. In AD 604, Pope Sabinianus permitted the use of bells in worship. By AD 930, bell towers had spread widely across Europe. Beyond calling the faithful and marking the liturgy, church bells became instruments of blessing, joy, and sacred declaration, organizing even the rhythm of community life. A Roman Pontifical prayer proclaims the bell’s purpose as not only divine but also protective, warding off storms, demons, and spiritual evil:
“Laudo Deum verum, plebem voco, congrego clerum,
Defunctos ploro, nimbum fugo, festa decoro.”(“I praise the true God, call the people, gather the clergy, mourn the dead, drive away the storm, and celebrate the feast.”)
These Latin inscriptions are still found etched on ancient bells. Felix also had the opportunity to study the harmonic scales of bell chimes, which range from the highest-pitched trebles to the deepest tenors, following the Western diatonic scale.
To support this ambitious automation venture, Felix sought technical assistance from K.K. Varma, Technical Director of Hill Electronics, and Prof. Tom Scaria, HOD of Mechanical Engineering at Pala Engineering College. Within a few days, Felix successfully tested a prototype of an electromagnetic bell ringer.
Parish Vicar Fr. George Mangalath and Assistant Vicar Fr. Denny Peringattu enthusiastically welcomed Felix’s automation initiative. They granted him permission to begin installing the mechanism in the old bell tower of the church.
Wondarla- Cochin
Felix had a key role in the development time. He the electronic consultant for the entire park. Mr. Shivadas from Wonderla was the executive of the projects under him. Now he is the general Manager of Wondala Banglore. Felix’s noticeable projects are Music foundan, Balarama Cave, Outdoor/ indoor Channel music in entire park.
Pulsator, Madonna Building,
7/276, South Chittoor,
Ernakulam, Kerala 682027
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