The Catholic Church in Japan has replaced a cathedral bell decades after it was destroyed in the 1945 atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
Urakami Church, located near the epicenter of the blast, installed the new bell on July 17, 2025, as part of commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of the bombing.
The new bell is a replica of the original small bell that was shattered during the attack. While the larger bell survived and continues to toll from the southern bell tower, the remains of the smaller bell have been preserved in the church’s Atomic Bomb Artifact Exhibition Room.
The replacement project was initiated by American Catholics and led by Professor James Rowley Nolan Jr. of Williams College, following his visit to Nagasaki in 2023.
The bell arrived in Nagasaki on May 1 and was publicly unveiled to the media in a press conference on May 15.
It was displayed at the church’s exhibition room from May 24 to June 1, drawing 6,870 visitors over nine days. After undergoing final adjustments, the bell was prepared for installation in the church’s northern bell tower.
A blessing ceremony was held before the installation, attended by Archbishop Michiaki Nakamura, Professor Nolan, parishioner Kojiro Morinouchi, and other church representatives.
The bell, named the “Bell of Saint Kateri of Hope,” will ring for the first time on August 9 at 11:02 a.m., the exact moment the bomb detonated over Nagasaki.
