“Flame of Hope” to be placed at masses by Pope in Japan

November 19, 2019

Nagasaki--The "Flame of Hope," a symbol of Japanese people's wish for peace, will be placed on altars at Masses to be conducted by Pope Francis in Tokyo and Nagasaki, southwestern Japan, during his visit to Japan from Saturday.

The Earth Caravan, a nonprofit organization based in the western Japan city of Kyoto, organized the arrangement. It announced the project on Monday at a press conference in Nagasaki, which was attacked by an atomic bomb in 1945 in the closing days of World War II.

The Flame of Hope was taken from the "Flame of Commitment" in Nagasaki, which will continue to be lit until nuclear weapons are eliminated.

It also includes the "peace flame" in Yame, Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, which is said to be from the embers of the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, western Japan, and the "Peace Flame" in Hiroshima.

Carrying the Flame of Hope, Earth Caravan members including second-generation hibakusha, or atomic bomb survivors, visited religious sites such as churches, shrines and temples in many parts of Japan by bicycle from September. In each location, prayers for peace were offered for the flame in ways of respective religions.

Pope Francis will conduct a Mass in Nagasaki on Sunday and at Tokyo Dome on Monday.

The Flame of Hope will arrive in Tokyo on Friday. After being carried to Nagasaki for the Mass, it will be brought back to Tokyo.

"I think (the flame) will communicate a wish for the elimination of nuclear weapons to the world," said Chiyumi Shinkai, 55, a member of the organization and a second-generation hibakusha. Jiji Press