Following her popular presentation last spring on the early Christian martyrs of Japan, Kristie Kiesel returns to continue the remarkable story of the centuries of persecution that followed Christianity’s Golden Age.
Discover how Japan was reopened to the West in the 19th century, the astonishing faith missionaries found still alive after more than 250 years of isolation, and how this history connects with the Aug. 9, 1945, bombing of Nagasaki. The presentation includes inspiring stories and photographs of many of the sacred sites that can still be visited today.
Registration is requested, but not required to attend.
Wednesday, Aug. 5 | 6:30-8:30 p.m. | Xavier Room
Construction of the original Urakami Cathedral, a brick Neo-Romanesque building, began in 1895, after a long-standing ban on Christianity was lifted. The atomic bomb that fell on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, detonated in Urakami only 500 m (1640 ft) from the cathedral, completely destroying it.
