Nagasaki: The bomb that destroyed a cathedral during Mass

Fr Maximilian Kolbe in Nagasaki

On this day, August 9, 1945 the atomic bomb detonated 500 metres from Urakami cathedral, completely destroying it while Mass was being said inside. The blast heat-wave incinerated and buried all the faithful inside the Cathedral.

The picture on the right is of St Maximilian Kolbe in Nagasaki before the war. When he arrived he had been warmly welcomed by the Catholic community. Kolbe wrote -"There are 80 million people in Japan, but 80,000 to 100,000 are Catholics. Of these, 60,000 are in Nagasaki."

Fr George Zabelka the Catholic Chaplain for the mainly Irish American Catholic Atomic Bomb crew, came to regret "blessing the bombs". Later making a pilgrimage to Nagasaki to ask for forgiveness.

That day our unity found in the body of Christ was shattered and broken, it must never be allowed to happen again.

See also: ICN 14 August - St Maximillian Kolbe - www.indcatholicnews.com/editsaint/236