"I am ecstatic," he said. "It's a greataccomplishment."

Savage said the bells have spiritualsignificance. "The Catholic Church is asacramental church, and the bells are a veryconcrete sign of God calling people to hispresence," he explained.

St. Paul's had not been renovated since itsconstruction in 1923, and many large repairs wereneeded on the 190-foot tower. According to DavidW. Graf, who oversaw the clock restoration, therepairs to the clock-works proved quitechallenging.

"The pieces were mostly rusted or missing,"Graf said. "This model is particularly extensivein terms of its mechanics."

Graf managed to fix the clock's originaltime-keeping mechanisms and preserve the oldparts, an achievement of little consolation tomany students.

But river-dwellers who curse the bells may takeheart. The original plan at St. Paul's called fora daily ringing at 6 a.m. In deference to thechurch's sleeping neighbors, the idea was dropped