Divine
Protection at Hiroshima
or
Why Our Motto Is
In God we trust
and everyone else must prove himself first
The level of destruction in Hiroshima, 1945 (1)
PURPOSE
The purpose of this document is to share certain dramatic events which
occurred in Hiroshima that may help some see the importance of sincere
prayer in order that Psalm 91 (2)
becomes a reality in one's life.
INTRODUCTION
We requested one of our frequent visitors to research the mostly
ignored manifestation of the Divine protection for certain individuals
in Hiroshima when the atomic bomb was dropped there by the allied
forces. We do not need any proof to live what our motto above proclaims
but others, who "do not know the face of miguel de Portugal", may need
"a face" to believe it.
Following
is the response of our frequent visitor who did the search.
Did anyone survive the atomic blasts
at Hiroshima and Nagasaki unscathed? The short answer is yes. At least
four German Jesuits sent as missionaries to the Japanese survived the
Hiroshima blast even though they were only 1 kilometer from Ground
Zero. Not only did they suffer only minor injuries, but they did not
have radiation sickness, nor any other effects of radiation exposure.
The main spokesperson for this group,
Father Schiffer, apparently has been examined by over 200 doctors
without good medical explanation. He has spoken of this event on behalf
of the original Blue Army (3), and elsewhere.
Apparently, a community called
Marytown or The City of The Immaculata, located in Nagasaki was also
unscathed by the atomic blast and it, along with all the Franciscan
Friars inside, survived. This community was founded by Saint
Maximillian Kolbe.
However, the only extended document
supporting the above facts is listed below.
The story of the Jesuits is
compelling. Whether or not it was because they lived the message of
Fatima is open to speculation. As you would say, may the Holy Spirit
guide the reader in his evaluation.
DETAILS
NOTE: Honoring the
request of Drs. Rinehart and Hubbell we have reprinted below the entire
document, therefore, The M+G+R
Foundation is not
responsible for typographical or any other kind of errors and/or
inaccuracies - including dates and misquotations.
Rosary
Miracle - Safe in the Midst of Nuclear Blast !!
February 2000
by Dr. Stephen A. Rinehart and Dr.
Richard F. Hubbell
Please distribute freely - but
only in its entirety only - Thanks!!
God can and does miraculously protect those consecrated to Him -
especially through the Rosary - even in the midst of a powerful nuclear
detonation. Every effort at meticulous and verifiable accuracy - with
as many direct sources as possible being quoted and URL's being
provided - in the preparation of this article - which originally came
about as a series of emails between the two authors.
****************************************************
Rosary Miracle at Hiroshima -
August 6th, 1945
There was a home eight blocks (about 1 kilometer) from where the A-Bomb
went off in Hiroshima Japan. This home had a church attached to it
which was completely destroyed, but the home survived, and so did the
eight German Jesuit missionaries who prayed the rosary in that house
faithfully every day. These men were missionaries to the Japanese
people, they were non-military, but because Germany and Japan were
allies during WWII they were permitted to live and minister within
Japan during the war. Not only did they all survive with (at most)
relatively minor injuries, but they all lived well past that awful day
with no radiation sickness, no loss of hearing, or any other visible
long term defects or maladies.
Naturally, they were interviewed
numerous times (Fr. Schiffer, a survivor, said over 200 times) by
scientists and health care people about their remarkable experience and
they say "we believe that we survived because we were living the
message of Fatima. We lived and prayed the rosary daily in that home."
Of course the
secular scientists are speechless and incredulous at this explanation -
and they are sure there is some "real" explanation - but at the same
time over 55 years later the scientists are still absolutely bamboozled
when it comes to finding a plausible scenario to explain the
missionary's unique escape from the hellish power of that bomb.
***********************
FR. SCHIFFER OF HIROSHIMA
by Fr. Paul Ruge, O.F.M.I.
At 2:45 a.m. on August 6, 1945, a B-29 bomber took off from the island
of Tinian to drop the first atomic bomb on Japan. At 8:15 a.m. the bomb
exploded eight city blocks from the Jesuit Church of Our Lady's
Assumption in Hiroshima. Half a million people were annihilated.
However, the church and four Jesuit fathers stationed there survived:
Fathers Hugo Lassalle, Kleinsorge, Cieslik and Schiffer. (RH note - all
other accounts state clearly that there were eight Jesuits stationed in
this home not four - and it is well known that all eight survived - the
author of this present article apparently only had the names of four of
them, for instance Fr. Arrupe is left out of the list - and at this
writing, I have not been able to find the names of the other three
Jesuits. end of note.) According to the experts they "ought to be
dead," being within a one-mile radius of the explosion. Nine days later
on August 15, Feast of Our Lady's Assumption, U.S. forces were ordered
to cease fire.
This is the incredible story of the late Fr. Hubert Schiffer, as retold
by Fr. Paul Ruge.
I met Fr. Schiffer in the late 70s at the Tri-City Airport in Saginaw,
Michigan, as he was going to give a talk for the Blue Army
Novena/Triduum. As I chauffeured him around he told me stories of his
life, especially of the atomic explosion at Hiroshima. On the morning
of August 6, 1945, he had just finished Mass, went into the rectory and
sat down at the breakfast table, and had just sliced a grapefruit, and
had just put his spoon into the grapefruit when there was a bright
flash of light. His first thought was that it was an explosion in the
harbor (this was a major port where the Japanese refueled their
submarines.)
Then, in the words of Fr. Schiffer: "Suddenly, a terrific explosion
filled the air with one bursting thunderstroke. An invisible force
lifted me from the chair, hurled me through the air, shook me, battered
me, whirled me 'round and 'round like a leaf in a gust of autumn wind."
The next thing he remembered, he opened his eyes and
he was laying on the ground. He looked around and there was NOTHING in
any direction: the railroad station and buildings in all directions
were leveled to the ground.
The only physical harm to himself was that he could feel a few pieces
of glass in the back of his neck. As far as he could tell, there was
nothing else physically wrong with himself. Many thousands were killed
or maimed by the explosion. After the conquest of the Americans, their
army doctors and scientists explained to him that his body would begin
to deteriorate because of the radiation. Many of the Japanese people
had blisters and sores from the radiation. To the doctors amazement,
Fr. Schiffer's body contained no radiation or ill-effects from the
bomb. Fr. Schiffer attributes this to devotion to the Blessed Mother,
and his daily Fatima Rosary. He feels that he received a protective
shield from the Blessed Mother which protected him from all radiation
and ill-effects. (This coincides with the bombing of Nagasaki where St.
Maximilian Kolbe had established a Franciscan Friary which was also
unharmed because of special protection from the Blessed Mother, as the
Brothers too prayed the daily Rosary and also had no effects from the
bomb.)
(End of Ruge&Schiffer's
testimony and end of the guest document)
****************************************************
Fr. Schiffer (left) with Enola Gay co-pilot and aircraft
commander Robert A. Lewis in 1951 (4)
CONCLUSION
The above will undoubtedly rekindle the Faith in many while it will not
impact those who do not Have eyes to See and Ears to Hear. (5)
NOTE: You may want to see the Booklet by Hubert F. Schiffer
containing a more detailed (in first person) account
NOTES
(1) November 1945,
Heavily damaged Hiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition Hall and
destruction of the city center. Courtesy of the Hiroshima Peace
Memorial Museum. Source
(2) Psalm
91
(3) The Blue Army of Fatima - What
Went Wrong?
(4) Photo source
(5) Those
who have Eyes to See and Ears to Hear
(6) Researcher Chie
Shijo confirms that 16 Jesuits experienced Hiroshima A-bombing and told
world of tragedy
(7) Please note that a most
publiziced photo
that many are labeling as "the
ruins of the Hiroshima Catholic Church after the atom bomb" is
really Nagarekawa
Methodist Church in Hiroshima. If there is any image of the ruins
of the Jesuit Church of Our Lady's Assumption in Hiroshima after the
bomb, we have not found it after an extended search.
Originally Published on
February 13, 2006
Images added and more links provided on December 31, 2021
© Format Copyright 2006
- 2021 by The M+G+R Foundation.
All rights reserved. However, you may
freely reproduce and distribute this document as long as: (1)
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