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Nagasaki statue that 'survived' A-bomb, going to New York

The remains of a statue of the Virgin Mary that survived the nuclear bombing of Nagasaki is to be exhibited in New York ahead of an international conference aimed at curbing arms proliferation, says the Roman Catholic Church in the Japanese city, reports Ecumenical News International.

The wooden statue of the mother of Jesus, which stood in Urakami Cathedral in the western Japanese city, was almost completely destroyed by the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki by the U.S. Air Force in the last days of the Second World War on 9 August 1945. Only Mary's head remained intact. The cathedral itself was reduced to rubble.

"It [the head] will be shown while prayers are said during a Mass [in New York]", Midori Shikayama, an official of the Nagasaki archdiocese's public relations department, told Ecumenical News International. Shikayama explained it will be the first time the statue has visited the United States when it is shown during the Mass at St Patrick's Cathedral in New York City on 2 May.

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TAGS: Japan USA Nagasaki statue atomic bomb statue of the Virgin Mary St Patrick's Cathedral

[04/10/2010]

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