Pope John Paul II's Appeal for Peace
Date of completion
February 25, 1983
Established by
Committee for Monument Commemorating Pope John Paul II's Appeal for Peace
Designer
Itto Kuetani (Hiroshima-born sculptor living in Italy)
Shape
The monument, made of white marble from Carrara, Italy, is engraved with words selected from Pope John Paul II's Appeal for Peace, in both Japanese and English. The monument consists of two joined rectangular stones underneath and an abstract sculpture above. The sculpture, symbolizing the world aspiring to work together for future harmony, stability and coexistence, represents humankind's hope for peace. (1.8 meters wide, 0.9 meters long and 3 meters high)
Motive for the erection
To transform the Pope's Appeal for Peace into a sculpture that can serve as a source of peace
Epigraph
War is the work of man.
War is destruction of human life.
War is death.
To remember the past is to commit oneself to the future.
To remember Hiroshima is to abhor nuclear war.
To remember Hiroshima is to commit oneself to peace.
10:30 a.m., 25 February 1981
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
His Holiness Pope John Paul II
Noteworthy characteristics
- Pope John Paul II's visit to Hiroshima and his Appeal for Peace
On February 25, 1981, Pope John Paul II made his Appeal for Peace in front of the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. The Appeal for Peace, calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons, greatly impressed people all around the world.
In response to a request by many people, including A-bomb survivor Yoshie Fujieda, to create a monument based on the Pope's Appeal for Peace that would serve as a source of peace inspiration, the Committee for Monument Commemorating Pope John Paul II's Appeal for Peace was organized. On February 25, 1983, two years after the Appeal for Peace, an unveiling ceremony for the monument was held in the lobby on the first floor of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.