Takashi was working in the hospital when the atomic bomb struck, and emerged from the rubble to find a sea of burned bodies and skeletons. Immediately, he mobilized a team of survivors to help whoever they could. His two surviving children had escaped to the mountains weeks before the bomb and were spared. When he finally had the chance to look for Midori, he found nothing but her charred bones and the metal of her rosary beads, melted into a ball in her hands. ⁣ ⁣ In November that year, Nagai spoke at the Requiem Mass held in the Cathedral, honoring the 8,000 Christians who died in the attack. He turned their gaze towards the Crucifix. He spoke to them about redemptive suffering, forgiveness, and reminded them of God’s providence in bringing an end to the war shortly after the bombing. His speech and many other writings thereafter had a lasting and profound impact on the people of Japan. ⁣ ⁣ He chose to live in a primitive 6x6 hut for the rest of his life, and wrote 20 different books while he was bed-ridden and dying from cancer. He would wake in the middle of the night to write, and spent the rest of his day seeing visitors from all over Japan, and responding to their letters. He used his first paycheck as an author to have hundreds of cherry blossoms planted throughout his barren town. ⁣ ⁣ This humble bed-ridden doctor seemed to heal his nation’s heart through severe optimism and the burning flame of hope he carried to each person he encountered. On May 1st, 1950, Takashi Nagai passed peacefully into eternal life. Twenty thousand mourners attended his funeral two days later. Nagai was buried next to Midori, with the scripture of Luke inscribed on his tombstone. “We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.” ⁣ ⁣ In October 2021, The Archbishop of Nagasaki opened Takashi and Midori’s cause for canonization. ⁣ ⁣ (PART II OF II)