Photos of the Week: 80th atomic bombing anniversary, Argentine saint pilgrimage

By Kit Doyle · August 13, 2025
 (RNS) — Each week RNS presents a gallery of photos of religious expression around the world. This week’s photo gallery includes the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings in Japan, patron saint of work traditions in Argentina and more. People demonstrate for nuclear disarmament in front of the White House, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, on the 80th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan. (Photo courtesy of Art Laffin) Monks at a memorial service for atomic bombing victims ahead of a ceremony to mark the 80th anniversary of the bombing near Nagasaki Peace Park, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, in Nagasaki, western Japan. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) Groups are introduced during the opening ceremony of the 2025 JCC Maccabi Games at University of Pittsburgh, Monday, Aug. 4, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (RNS photo/Kathryn Post) Union workers prepare to march during the annual pilgrimage honoring Saint Cajetan, the patron saint of work, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A Catholic priest blesses a woman outside Saint Cajetan Church, named for the patron saint of work, on the day of the annual pilgrimage in his honor in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Cambodian Buddhist monks chant in a Buddhist pagoda of Wat Botumvotey as they organize a ceremony to honor soldiers killed in recent border clashes with Thai forces and to pray for peace, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith) Mourners carry the body of Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen, who was killed by an Israeli settler according to Palestinian health officials, during his funeral in the West Bank Bedouin village of Umm al-Khair, Aug. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean) Followers of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr distribute food to Iranian pilgrims heading to the holy city of Karbala for the annual Arbaeen pilgrimage, in Najaf, Iraq, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil) Iranian Shi'ite pilgrims arrive at the Al-Mundheriya border crossing to join millions of Muslims heading to the holy city of Karbala for the annual Arbaeen pilgrimage, in Diyala, Iraq, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban) Attendees pray during a service for peace in the Russia-Ukraine War, Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025, at the Saint Innocent Cathedral in Anchorage, Alaska, ahead of a U.S.-Russia summit. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen) Palestinians rush to collect humanitarian aid airdropped by parachutes into Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) Archival Photos Japanese Buddhists take time off from building a Peace Pagoda to chant prayers as part of their 75-hour vigil at the gates of the Greenham Common Air Base in England to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1980. The vigil at Greenham Common, a proposed site for the stationing of cruise missiles, was scheduled to end on the anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki. (RNS archive photo. Photo courtesy of the Presbyterian Historical Society.) A shimmering pool reflects Pope John Paul II as he prays before the atomic bomb memorial on Feb. 25, 1980, in Hiroshima, Japan, where tens of thousands died in 1945, after the first use of nuclear weapons. In a strong appeal for peace, the pontiff declared, "To remember Hiroshima is to abhor nuclear war. To remember Hiroshima is to commit oneself to peace." He said "War is the work of man. War is destruction of human life, war is death. Let us embark upon the steep and difficult task of peace." (RNS archive photo. Photo courtesy of the Presbyterian Historical Society.) Hiroshima, Japan residents carry banners and flags on Aug. 5, 1981, ahead of the 36th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the Japanese city, protesting the "ever expanding nuclear arms race" between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. In a speech delivered to a peace gathering, Prime Minister Zenko Suzuki said the continued military build-up between the super powers means that "mankind today is confronted with the real possibility of self-extinction." (RNS archive photo. Photo courtesy of the Presbyterian Historical Society.) Japanese Catholics kneel in prayer for atomic bombing victims in 1949. (RNS archive photo. Photo courtesy of the Presbyterian Historical Society.)
Related Stories
Photos of the Week: Pachamama, Tisha B’Av
By Kit Doyle
Photos of the Week: Druze communities, Alligator Alcatraz
By Kit Doyle
Photos of the Week: Srebrenica genocide anniversary, Castel Gandolfo
By Kit Doyle
Photos of the Week: Ashoura, Texas flooding
By Kit Doyle
Photos of the Week: Dalai Lama turns 90, Muharram
By Kit Doyle