Nagasaki’s Urakami Cathedral to Get New Bell to Replace One Damaged in Atomic Bombing of 1945

The Yomiuri Shimbun

7:00 JST, March 25, 2025

NAGASAKI — A U.S. project has completed work on a new bell to be donated to Urakami Cathedral in Nagasaki to replace one that was damaged in the 1945 atomic bombing of the city.

The project is being led by Prof. James Nolan Jr. at Williams College. The 62-year old professor is the grandson of James Nolan, who participated in the Manhattan Project, a U.S. program that researched and developed atomic bombs.

The bell is expected to arrive in Nagasaki as early as April.

The Catholic Archdiocese of Nagasaki plans to ring the cathedral’s bells on Aug. 9, which marks the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing.

On Aug. 9, 1945, the cathedral and two towers collapsed in the bombing, but the south tower’s bell was found nearly intact in the rubble and was placed in the rebuilt cathedral. The cathedral was about 500 meters from the hypocenter.

Like the bell that was damaged, the new bell measures 66 centimeters in height and 80 centimeters in diameter. The bronze bell, cast in the Netherlands, was to be shipped from a foundry in the United States.

When the professor visited Nagasaki in 2023, he learned that one of the bells was missing and offered to donate a replacement. In spring last year, he began raising funds by collecting donations from Catholics in the United States.

The archdiocese plans to display to the public the bell alongside the damaged bell before installing it.

“This will be a very meaningful event 80 years after the atomic bombing,” said Archbishop Michiaki Nakamura of the Nagasaki Archdiocese. “I hope the bells convey our wish for peace.”