Twin Cathedral Bells to Ring Together in Nagasaki for First Time Since 1945

For the first time in eight decades, the twin bells of Nagasaki’s Immaculate Conception Cathedral will chime in unison on Saturday, marking the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city.

The historic moment will take place at 11:02am local time — the exact time the bomb was dropped on August 9, 1945. Nearly 74,000 people lost their lives in Nagasaki, three days after a similar attack devastated Hiroshima, where an estimated 140,000 were killed.

Widely known as Urakami Cathedral, the church was almost entirely destroyed in the blast, its location just a few hundred metres from the hypocentre. Only one bell survived. In 1959, the building was rebuilt, but its second bell was never replaced — until now.

Funded by donations from Catholics in the United States, a new bell was created and installed earlier this year. The project was spearheaded by James Nolan, a sociology professor at Williams College in Massachusetts. Nolan’s grandfather was part of the Manhattan Project, which developed the first nuclear weapons.

Nolan said he was inspired after a Japanese Christian told him he hoped to hear the cathedral’s two bells ring together again. Over the course of a year, Nolan travelled across the US giving lectures, mostly in churches, raising about $125,000 for the new bell.

This year’s commemoration in Nagasaki will see representatives from nearly 100 countries. Russia, absent since 2022, will be present, as will Israel, whose ambassador was not invited last year.