Nagasaki (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Commemoration ceremonies to mark the 60th anniversary of the atomic bomb attack against Nagasaki started today at dawn in Urakami cathedral, on the outskirts of the second Japanese city to be hit. A special mass was celebrated in the church which at the time was Asia's largest cathedral – 500 metres away from the centre of the explosion.

Three days after the bombing of Hiroshima, on 9 August 1945 at 11.02, there were 30 people present in Urakami church as well as two priests hearing confessions. All were killed and the building was burned by the intensity of heat given off when "Fat Man" – as the plutonium bomb was nicknamed – went off. Out of 12,000 Catholics of this community, 8,500 were killed. The total death toll of victims in Nagasaki was around 80,000. Throughout the following year, another 60,000 died.

But not everything was destroyed. As from today, in a chapel specifically built for the purpose, the so-called "bombed Mary" will be on display for believers to see. The sculpture bears the head of a wooden statue which survived the atomic attack and which still bears the scars of its radiation. The head was recovered from among the debris but no trace of the body was ever found.

The church has long exhibited a model of the statue however many asked to be able to pray in front of the original. So parishioners themselves created a space to host the Virgin's head. Among them was Mr Fukabori, 74 years, who lost four brothers in the attack. The man expressed this desire: "We want this chapel to become a place of prayer for the victims' souls and for peace".

Solemn celebrations unfolded in the Peace Memorial park with a pressing appeal to the people of the United States to mobilize more dynamically in the fight against nuclear arms with the same urgency as "the anger and anguish linked to the horrible terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001". "We people of Nagasaki understand well and share your anger and your anguish for 11 September," said the city mayor, Iccho Ito, in a message delivered in front of 6,000 people, including the Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi. "At the same time, the nuclear policy of your government… does it really give you assurance of greater collective security? I am sure most of you desire with all your heart the elimination of these weapons of mass destruction." At the ceremony, Koizumi reaffirmed Japan's commitment to a peaceful country without nuclear arms and to spearheading the movement for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

In the days immediately following the bombing, Japan continued to fight desperately until 14 August, when it finally surrendered unconditionally, putting an end to six years of war.