Memorial Cathedral for World Peace

Father Hugo Lassalle miraculously survived the destruction of the original Catholic church in Noboricho, Hiroshima City, in the atomic bombing of August 6, 1945. In honor of those who lost their lives in the blast, he decided to rebuild the church as a cathedral dedicated to peace. The bells, from Lassalle’s home country of Germany, were made from steel weapons used in WWII. The bells bear the inscription “The arms of war now sound the call to peace.” Austria, Belgium, Mexico, Portugal, and Spain have also donated other items used and displayed in the Cathedral.