Photo/Illutration A memorial Mass for Pope Francis is celebrated at Urakami Cathedral in Nagasaki on April 27. (Masaru Komiyaji)

NAGASAKI—About a thousand people attended a memorial Mass at the Urakami Cathedral here on April 27 for Pope Francis, who had visited Nagasaki and called for a world without nuclear weapons.

Before the service began, footage of the pope’s visit to the city in November 2019 was shown on a screen at the cathedral.

Archbishop Michiaki Nakamura of the Archdiocese of Nagasaki presided over the Mass using a chalice that the pope had gifted to the church during the visit.

“He lived for the sake of others until his end,” Mitsuaki Takami, a 79-year-old former archbishop of the Archdiocese of Nagasaki, said after the Mass. “As an atomic bomb survivor, I’m grateful for his constant advocacy for the abolition of nuclear weapons. I hope his successor will carry on this mission.”

Takami was exposed to radiation from the atomic bomb while he was in his mother’s womb.

Teruko Ogushi, 83, who also attended the memorial Mass, was exposed to the atomic bombing when she was 3.

When Francis visited Nagasaki, Ogushi sang as a choir member at the Mass.

“The pope was a peace provider, including his effort regarding the atomic bombing,” she said. “I believe the next pope will also wish for peace.”

Pope Francis, who died on April 21, called for the elimination of nuclear weapons at the Atomic Bomb Hypocenter Park in Nagasaki in 2019.

During his visit, about 30,000 people gathered at a prefectural baseball stadium where the pope offered Mass.

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