The year 1944
In 1944, Father Cimatti came to live with the seminarians at the Tokyo Ikuei Salesian Seminary to continue teaching them.
"I returned to being a schoolteacher as a young man, and although the job was more difficult than before, I think it was helpful to the students," he recalls.
During the war, food and other necessities were scarce, so seminarians spent two days a week doing manual labor.
Studies continued as scheduled in early 1944, but around November, the United States began bombing Tokyo,
and classes had to be suspended. The following entry remains in the seminary diary:
Since November, there have been air raids almost every night, and multiple times each day. Every time an air raid siren sounds, we run to the bomb shelter.
Father Cimatti always waits outside until everyone has gathered, and then he finally enters the shelter with a rosary in his hand.
The seminary seems not to have been attacked, but the noise from the planes is terrible, and the bombs fall very close by.
Everyone lives in fear, and this Stations of the Cross is repeated many times each day.
On December 8, 1944, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, an alarm sounded at 2 a.m., and as the air raids on Tokyo continued for hours,
Father Cimatti stood before the assembled community and made a promise to Mary:
"If the Salesians survive, I will build a church at Our Lady Help of Christians."
Despite air raids and other incidents, Father Cimatti appeared calm to the public and repeatedly told his followers,
"Do not be afraid. Let us entrust ourselves to God's providence. Let us accept God's will and avoid sin so that we may receive the protection of the Virgin Mary."
The year 1945
As 1945 began, air raids destroyed more and more buildings in Tokyo, the death toll increased, and the number of people left homeless became too great to count.
As foreigners living at the seminary, they were met with hostility from those around them during the bombings, and some became discouraged because
they could not contact their relatives. Therefore, in April 1945, Father Cimatti moved the seminarians to Lake Nojiri, five or six hours outside of Tokyo,
so that they would at least be safe from the sound of bombs.
But how did Father Cimatti get the money to buy the place?
In the book that reveals Father Cimatti's secrets, we find this quote:
"On December 7, 1944, a man in his 30s came to talk to us. After a long discussion, he left the seminary without revealing his name and leaving a large donation."
After the seminarians moved to Lake Nojiri, they received the following letter from Father Cimatti:
"I know that you have many difficulties, but let us be grateful to Providence and the Virgin Mary for the material and spiritual help they have given us so far."
The war ended on August 15, 1945, with a radio address by His Majesty the Emperor.
Father Cimatti gave a retreat for the Salesians of Tokyo and spoke these words during a toast.
"Thank God! Now let's get to work. Let's work for God's glory, for people's salvation, and for the reconstruction of Japan."
Cimatti Museum Father Marsilio
March 6, 2023
Go to the index page of Father Cimatti's life
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