Nagasaki’s A-Bombed Urakami Cathedral Bell to be Restored; Grandson of a Manhattan Project Doctor and U.S. Catholics to Make Donations

By Yuji Sakaguchi / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

17:54 JST, August 23, 2024

NAGASAKI — Urakami Cathedral’s twin bell towers in Nagasaki will receive a new bell to replace the one that was damaged in the 1945 atomic bombing of the city, with the grandson of a doctor involved in the U.S. project to develop the atomic bomb and U.S. Catholics pledging to donate it.

The Catholic Archdiocese of Nagasaki plans to hang the donated bell at the cathedral next year, which marks the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city. The twin bell towers will be fully restored for the first time since World War II.

All but the walls of the cathedral collapsed in the atomic bombing, and the twin bell towers were also destroyed. The south tower’s bell was found nearly intact in the rubble. Known as the “Bell of Nagasaki,” it rings three times a day at the reconstructed bell tower.

However, the north tower’s bell was severely damaged by the bomb, leaving the present north tower without one. The damaged bell is housed in an exhibition room near the cathedral to convey the threat posed by atomic bombs.

The new bell will be donated by Prof. James Nolan Jr. at Williams College and U.S. Catholics. The 61-year-old professor is the grandson of Dr. James Nolan, who participated in the Manhattan Project, which developed the atomic bomb, and was involved in radiation control, safety measures and transportation of the atomic bomb. In the month following the atomic bombings, his grandfather visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki as a member of a team to investigate the effects of the bombs.

About 10 years ago, Prof. Nolan learned that among his grandfather’s mementos, there were personal letters concerning the atomic bombings and photographs of sites on the ground, including those of the bombed cathedral in Nagasaki.

Retracing his grandfather’s footsteps, the professor published a book in the United States in 2020 that examined the ethical and medical issues that the doctors and others faced while the atomic bomb was being developed. He expounded on the great impact technology would exert on people’s lives. The book was translated into Japanese and published in Japan, too.

Nolan visited Nagasaki when he was writing the book and has returned there since then. In May last year, he interviewed Catholics in Nagasaki, and a suggestion was made that American Catholics replace the bell. He agreed that it was a wonderful idea.

Later that year, he offered to donate a bronze bell to Archbishop Michiaki Nakamura of the Nagasaki Archdiocese. Like the bell that was damaged, the new bell will measure 66 centimeters in height, 80 centimeters in diameter and approximately 340 kilograms in weight. The cost will be covered entirely by donations from U.S. Catholics.

Out of the about 12,000 Catholics who lived in the area near the cathedral, about 8,500 are said to have been killed in the atomic bombing.

Nolan responded in writing to The Yomiuri Shimbun and said that it is a great honor to be able, through the planned revival of the bell, to show solidarity with the followers of the Urakami Cathedral who endured unimaginable suffering.

The Archdiocese of Nagasaki is preparing to accept the bell by conducting strength tests at the bell tower and making other preparations and plans to hang it by Aug. 9 next year.

“The bells will ring out to convey the tragedy of war and to wish for peace,” Nakamura said.