For most of us, a visit to Hiroshima and Nagasaki is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It is profoundly moving to not only see the locations of the horrific tragedies of 1945 but simultaneously to experience the tremendous beauty of Japan and the hospitality of the Japanese people.
Pax Christi International had hoped to celebrate its 75th anniversary in Hiroshima with an international gathering in May 2020, but the Covid19 pandemic thwarted those plans.
Now, several Pax Christi USA members who had hoped to attend the international assembly in 2020 have decided to organize an independent pilgrimage to Hiroshima, with options to visit Nagasaki and Kyoto, too, in March 2024. They are working with the Oleander Initiative, an organization with many years’ experience of bringing peacemakers to Japan with a special focus on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and with Pax Christi members in Japan to plan a thoughtful, memorable visit.
The Hiroshima tour, the primary portion of the trip, will take place from March 7-12, 2024; the visit to Kyoto would take place before Hiroshima, from March 4-7, and the optional Nagasaki leg would be March 12-16.
Find a draft agenda with proposed costs in this PDF.
The size of the group is limited to 12 persons, and several spots are still available. Plans should finalize soon, in order to secure flights and hotel reservations.
Please use this email to contact the organizers as soon as possible to indicate your interest in joining this special opportunity. Each participant is responsible for his/her own expenses and flight arrangements.
>>This is not a Pax Christi USA event, though the organizers are long-time Pax Christi USA members.
Great idea. Maybe you could open it to a zoom gathering, once you are there, so people who cannot travel can maybe participate in that way. I was in Nagasaki many years ago, and it was amazing to see, but of course so much has built up that it is not like looking at bomb craters. I remember the memorial, the white origami cranes, and quotes about peace. I hope the trip is successful and a wonderfully elightening process!
Is there any way that presentations could be livestreamed? The cost for me is most prohibitive. I am in a study group on Archbishop John Wester’s Pastoral Letter- Living in the Light of Christ, and this would be an amazing retreat experience….. I could see Pax Christi USA having their annual meeting in 2024 in conjunction with this Special Pilgrimage to Japan. Please consider this action for other Pax Christi USA Chapters. It certainly would be more inclusive and impactful for our commitment towards abolishing nuclear weapons. Thank you, Sister Linda Bessom SND de N, Co-chair of Pax Christi Beverly, MA .