Rosary Miracle at Hiroshima - August 6th, 1945

There was a home eight blocks (about 1 kilometer) from where the A-Bomb went off in Hiroshima Japan. This home had a church attached to it which was completely destroyed, but the home survived, and so did the eight German Jesuit missionaries who prayed the rosary in that house faithfully every day. These men were missionaries to the Japanese people, they were non-military, but because Germany and Japan were allies during WWII they were permitted to live and minister within Japan during the war.

Not only did they all survive with (at most) relatively minor injuries, but they all lived well past that awful day with no radiation sickness, no loss of hearing, or any other visible long term defects or maladies. Naturally, they were interviewed and examined numerous times (Fr. Schiffer, a survivor, said over 200 times) by scientists and health care people about their remarkable experience and they say "we believe that we survived because we were living the message of Fatima. We lived and prayed the rosary daily in that home."

Fr. Arrupe, a Basque, had his vocation come about when he was a medical student and witnessed a miraculous healing at Lourdes. After the bombing of Hiroshima, he set up a makeshift hospital and cared for more than 200 wounded and dying people.

For his book "Hiroshima," written not long after the event, John Hersey interviewed one of the Jesuit priests, Fr. Schiffer, IIRC, and five other survivors.

All eight priests were still living in 1976 when one of them addressed a Eucharistic Conference in the U.S.

Additionally, a Franciscan Friary had been built in Nagasaki by St. Maximillian Kolbe. The Lord told him to build it behind the crest of a hill and the hill sheltered it from the blast.


Given the times we live in, I am starting to pray the Rosary daily again, beginning today, the Feast of St. Dominic!

spearheaded the Liberation Theology movement. He was also Superior General of the Society of Jesus from 1965-1983.

Here's the relevant part from the lengthy Wikipedia article about Fr. Pedro Arrupe:


The Church in South America was predominantly faced with the poverty that many considered to be caused by the perceived injustice of tiny minorities of the population owning and controlling vast amounts of the countries wealth and resources. Controversially the theologians in South America became more and more politically involved, often adopting Marxist sociological tools to analyse this inequality. The theology that grew out of this was called Liberation Theology. Many Jesuits in South and Central America were at the forefront of this struggle for justice, and were aware of the role the church had had in the past of appearing to bless and legitimize this inequality.

Arrupe had special relationship with these men as well. They were involved in Latin American proposals that eventually produced his beloved decree four from GC 32. On June 20, 1977 the White Warriors Union death squad threatened to kill each of the 47 Jesuits in El Salvador unless they abandoned their work with the poor, and left the country within a month. After consulting with his men, Fr. Arrupe replied, "They may end up as martyrs, but my priests are not going to leave (El Salvador), because they are with the people." Six Jesuits were subsequently murdered on November 16, 1989 at the Jesuit University of Central America as well as other Jesuits such as Rutilio Grande, and later also the Archbishop Oscar Romero.

Thanks for the background. So frequently I hear politicians attempting to rewrite the history of Central America (and, for that matter, a good deal else), and it cuts me to the heart. I will be certain to look up more on these particular accounts.

surviving Hiroshima. It was a miracle anyone survived near the center of the blast zone.

I also didn't know that Fr. Arrupe was involved with Liberation Theology, so it's a good thing we have Mathilda here.

I had the opportunity to visit the Atomic Bomb Museum in Nagasaki last February. It was extremely interesting. One of the things I noted were several rosaries they held that were near ground zero. There were probably twelve or so of them, but every one that was found was saved. It wasn't part of a miracle or anything, I just found it interesting that something so fragile managed to survive such a horrible event.

I would assume Nagasaki since you were at the museum there. There was a Franciscan Friary in Nagasaki that Fr. Maximillian Kolbe built when he was in Japan. He said the Lord told him to build it behind the crest of a hill and the hill protected it from the blast, so possibly the rosaries were from the Friary. Maybe I can find out if I do a search.

Thanks so much for posting about the rosaries and the museum. :hi: It's amazing all the things we're learning related to this event.

It must be difficult to see a lot of what is there, to see the photos where it actually happened. The photographs show so much suffering.

The name Fr. Maximillian Kolbe sounds familiar. I do remember that they were found at a church that was somewhat protected by the blast.

The pictures were hideous. Absolutely stomach turning and gut wrenching. I don't see how anyone that goes to that museum could ever think of using a nuclear weapon. It should be a required pilgrimage once a year for every politician on the planet.

tomorrow is his feast day so I'll be putting up an article soon. Here's something more I found about the Mary Town at Nagasaki:

"August 9, 1945, by order of Truman once again, an atomic bomb is dropped over the city of Nagasaki. The Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is destroyed. However, Maximilian Kolbe’s Mary Town and the Franciscan Friars inside are left unscathed, with the exception of a few stain glass windows. Once again these friars were devoted to the Blessed Mother and prayed the rosary daily."

"August 15, 1945 U.S. forces stand down and World War II is over. This is the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary."

I never realized WWII ended on the Feast of the Assumption, checked BBC and sure enough that's the day Allies supported V-J Day (Victory over Japan Day.) Learn something new every day!


I agree that yearly tours of Hiroshima and Nagasaki should be required of all political leaders, at their own expense. A good dose of reality and nausea would be educational for them.