Every year, on 6 and 9 August, we remember the victims of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In an increasingly fragile world, where the nuclear threat has once again become a tangible reality, this commemoration is not only a moment of mourning, but a genuine call to conscience.
The campaign “Lanterns for Peace: from Hiroshima to the World”, developed by Pax Christi International and the Hiroshima Coventry Club (Touro Project), is a global initiative marking the anniversary of one of the darkest chapters in human history.
Inspired by the lantern ceremonies held each year in Hiroshima, the campaign invites communities around the world to organise local commemorative events using traditional lanterns as symbols of remembrance, peace, hope, and nuclear disarmament.
If you wish to join the campaign, fill in this form.
We have produced a booklet providing all the details about the campaign, its preparatory stages, and how to take part actively, including instructions on how to craft your own lantern by hand.
May our collective participation serve as a global call to nonviolence and a renewed commitment to peace!
Event and initiative reports
From all around the world, numerous Pax Christi sections, NGOs, and social and humanitarian organisations joined the campaign, organising events and commemorative activities.
The following reports, which will be continuously updated, offer a broad overview of a global mobilisation for a day of remembrance and hope, so that the horrors we have already witnessed may never be repeated.
On 6 August, around 120 people gathered in Vienna, by the pond in front of the Karlskirche,for the memorial event dedicated to Hiroshima. Among the participants was also an international group of Peacewalk pilgrims, taking part in a pilgrimage along the Jerusalem Way, which follows different routes towards Jerusalem.
Numerous organisations gave speeches addressing the nuclear threat and the consequences of nuclear weapons and nuclear power.
Elisabeth Jungmeier, Pax Christi International’s delegate to the United Nations in Vienna, introduced the letter sent by Matsui Kazumi, the current Mayor of Hiroshima. In his message, the Mayor thanked those taking part in the commemorative event, stressing the importance of acting in accordance with the Spirit of Hiroshima: a spirit that yearns for the peaceful coexistence and prosperity of all humanity.
The City of Hiroshima, together with approximately 8,600 member cities of Mayors for Peace, continues to expand the circle of solidarity and citizen-led action across borders, fostering a culture of peace that stands firmly opposed to the use of military force.
At the end of the event, the peace lanterns, made by students from Hiroshima, were floated on the pond in front of the Karlskirche.
The “Lanterns for Peace” Campaign event organised in Brussels and co-hosted by Pax Christi International and the Quaker Council for European Affairs (QCEA) took place on 6 August from 17:30 at the Quaker House, kindly made available by QCEA. The event was attended by numerous representatives of social and humanitarian organisations and NGOs, including Pax Christi Vlaanderen.
As the lanterns from Japan could not be received in time, participants made and decorated their own lanterns by hand, which were then lit during a moment of remembrance.
Participants also had the opportunity to read together the testimonies of the Hibakusha and the message sent for the occasion by Kazumi Matsui, Mayor of Hiroshima.
The 81st anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was commemorated in several cities across the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, including Munich, Freising, Fürstenfeldbruck and Gilching. The events also saw the participation of pax christi Germany.
In Gilching, the 6 August commemoration took place at the Peace Pole, attended by representatives of the town council and the third deputy mayor. Readings by Bertolt Brecht, Elie Wiesel, Günter Anders and Rosa Luxemburg, accompanied by music from the Gilching Music School’s clarinet ensemble, recalled the tragedy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The event also focused on the renewed nuclear arms race and the need to turn remembrance into a concrete commitment to disarmament. The evening concluded with floating candles placed in the water in memory of the victims of Hiroshima.
In Munich, the commemoration in Marienplatz focused particularly on the current risk of nuclear conflict, highlighting rising spending on nuclear arsenals, international tensions and the planned deployment of new intermediate-range missiles in Germany. Among other demands, the organisers called for the withdrawal of US nuclear weapons from Büchel and for Germany to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
The event organised in the Philippines took place in Quezon City on 12 August, bringing together representatives of the local Pax Christi section and the Center for Peace Education at Miriam College.
At the space set up for the ceremony, participants first watched a video testimony from a Hibakusha. Afterwards, everyone had the opportunity to decorate the lanterns with messages of peace and hope.
On August 6, Pax Christi Scotland chair Marian Pallister and a number of members of the Scottish peace organisation from Stirling, Edinburgh and Glasgow joined the peace vigil organised by Justice and Peace Scotland at the North Gate of Faslane nuclear submarine base.
This annual event, co-badged by Pax Christi Scotland, commemorates the destruction of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 by the first atom bombs. It also brings together faith leaders and peace groups to pray for an end to weapons of mass destruction.
Archbishop William Nolan, Archbishop of the RC Archdiocese of Glasgow, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and a representative of the Scottish Episcopal Church reflected on today’s ‘Third World War fought piecemeal’ as Pope Francis called it. There were also speakers from the Quakers, the Iona Community, and Marian Pallister gave a short reflection on behalf of Pax Christi Scotland.
She said: “Pax Christi Scotland is a member organisation of Pax Christi International, the Catholic society that promotes just peace and nonviolence. Today we remember the victims of the first atomic bombs dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945, the year that our international peace movement was founded in the hope of inspiring peace among all nations.
May we remember that while G7 countries rely on vast nuclear arsenals, it was a single atomic bomb that obliterated Hiroshima. A single bomb that wiped out Nagasaki. As NATO asks countries to increase their spending on armaments, we seek your prayers today for an end to weapons of mass destruction and an emptying of the obscene arsenals hidden in the beautiful hills that surround us here.”
A recent CND report noted that while most strategic military facilities are situated remote from areas of population, Faslane and its Coulport support base are just 40 kilometres from Glasgow (Scotland’s largest city) and surrounded by other population centres. Were there to be a nuclear strike on the Clyde Estuary base, the estimated possible death toll could be as high as 138,827 people. Depending on wind direction, radiation fall-out could reach cities in the north of Scotland, such as Aberdeen, or south as far as the Isle of Man.
Marking the historical devastation of the first atom bombs and praying for an end to the possession of nuclear weapons were two major peace issues addressed by speakers at the vigil.
People of different faiths met in Geneva on August 6th to reflect on the atomic-bombings of 1945. Floating lanterns made by students in Japan lit up the group’s meditation and dialogue. Pax Christi International convened this and gatherings elsewhere in cooperation with the project, “Lanterns for Peace: Hiroshima to the World”.
The mayor of Hiroshima sent a message for these Lanterns for Peace-related gatherings. “We urge policymakers who pursue security policies rooted in narrow self-interest and nuclear deterrence to reconsider their approaches. We who aspire to a truly peaceful world…must work even harder to build civil society consensus for the abolition of nuclear weapons”, Mayor Kazumi Matsui said.
“From a Buddhist perspective, lighting a lantern is a sacred act of remembrance. It reminds us of our shared responsibility to work together for the well-being of humanity and to become witnesses for peace in the world”, said The Venerable Bhante Dhammike of the Buddhist International in Geneva.
“These lanterns are symbols of life, hope, compassion and peace. They unite us”, said Maurice Gardiol, of the Inter-religious Platform of Geneva. May such acts as the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki never happen again, he said.
“All people of faith must prevail on their governments to stop nuclear weapons“, said Marianne Ejderstten of the World Council of Churches. She noted that already in 1948 and ever since, the WCC has condemned nuclear weapons as “a sin against God”.
Participants shared reflections about the imperative of abolishing nuclear weapons. They noted the rising risks posed by the nuclear-armed states’ policies and actions including rearmament today. There were calls for such threats to be met by a broader and more collective witness for peace.
A memorial ceremony was held in Abingdon-on-Thames on 6 August, organised by the Abingdon Peace Group. The event began with a vigil at 8:15 am, the time when the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. A local family originally from Hiroshima also took part.
In the evening, a solemn ceremony was held around the Peace Pole in the garden of St Ethelwold’s House, with the Mayor of Abingdon-on-Thames reading a message from the Mayor of Hiroshima. Both cities are members of Mayors for Peace.
Peace cranes folded by Emiko Urata were then distributed. At sunset, lanterns painted by schoolchildren in Hiroshima were carried to the River Thames and entrusted to its waters, while singers from Oxford Sea Green performed songs for peace.
On 6 August, Pax Christi Merseyside and local churches came together to commemorate the 81st anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
On 9 August, another joint commemoration to remember the victims of Nagasaki was held at St Luke’s “Bombed Out” Church.
Participants came together in prayer and reflection, renewing their call to say “never again” to the horror of nuclear weapons.
The Diocese of Leeds – Justice and Peace Commission has published a list of all the events organised across Yorkshire and Manchester between 6 and 9 August, inviting people to take part.
In Coventry, a commemoration of Hiroshima and Nagasaki brought together remembrance of the victims with a strong message of peace and reconciliation. Linked to the Hiroshima Coventry Club and the Lanterns for Peace Campaign, the initiative highlighted the importance of preserving the memory of the past while promoting a future free from nuclear weapons.
On Saturday 8 August at 7:00 pm, at Thurman-Hutchins Park in Louisville, Kentucky, Interfaith Paths to Peace (IPP) organised a commemoration marking the 81st anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
A powerful testimony was offered by Sister Janet Peterworth, a member of the IPP Board, who experienced the events of that time as a child.
“I know hate is a strong word for a nine-year-old, but I guess that’s what it was,” Sister Janet recalls. “We were socialised to hate this enemy.”
The commemoration also featured readings and songs reflecting on peace and the importance of remembrance.
As part of the Lanterns for Peace Campaign, Pax Christi USA commemorated the anniversary of the atomic bombings through several initiatives across the United States.
In Washington, D.C., a prayer and reflection vigil was held, opened by a reflection from Executive Director Charlene Howard, followed by a lantern-lighting ceremony.
In New York, Pax Christi Metro New York organised a commemoration together with the War Resisters League, featuring lanterns made by students in Hiroshima, prayers, a procession and 81 gong strikes marking the 81 years since the atomic bombings.
People and communities that have organised events and initiatives during these days and would like to include their reports are invited to join the campaign and submit their materials. “Lanterns for Peace” invites groups and organisations from around the world to come together in a collective call for peace and nuclear disarmament.
Campaign Media Coverage
The “Lanterns for Peace: from Hiroshima to the World” campaign has also attracted attention beyond Pax Christi International’s own channels. A number of articles, websites, newsletters and pages run by partner organisations and other groups have highlighted the initiatives carried out as part of the campaign, helping to spread a universal message of remembrance and nuclear disarmament across different countries.
Here, we bring together the contributions that have highlighted the work of Pax Christi International, expressing our gratitude for the networking and collaboration made possible by our shared commitment to peace.
- Commemoration held marking 81st anniversary of Hiroshima/Nagasaki bombings – Observe.org
- Lanterns for Peace” reflections remember victims of atomic bombings – World Council of Churches
- Lanterns for Peace remember victims of atomic bombings on anniversary – Ecumenical News
- Memorial event for Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bomb victims held at a church in Washington, D.C.; lanterns painted by Hiroshima junior high students on display – Yomiuri Shimbun
2026 Nuclear Prayer Day
Pax Christi International was one of the partners of Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons for the 2026 Nuclear Prayer Day. The event, dedicated to prayer and reflection on nuclear disarmament, brought together people and organisations from different parts of the world, strengthening our shared commitment to a world free from nuclear weapons.
Since 2010, Voices has been part of the United Religions Initiative (URI) network as a Cooperation Circle.
This is hope. Thank you.
Years ago when I was in nurses training in Buffalo, NY I cared for a young woman who was being treated for burn scars. She stated the scars were from burn she encountered from the bombing in Hiroshima. I still feel a psychic connection to this woman. I feel a special honor to know I was there in her healing process.