An Atomic Bombed Image of Virgin Mary

The wooden Image of the Virgin Mary was imported from Italy in 1930. It was put on top of the front altar of Urakami Cathedral. On August 9th 1945, Urakami Cathedral was destroyed and 8500 local Christians died in the atomic bombing. It was in flames all night and the image of the Virgin Mary seemed to have been burned up. Fortunately, the head of the image was found under the debris. Since August 9th 2005 it has been on the altar in the chapel inside Urakami Cathedral.