New York City: The Catholic Memorial at Ground Zero
History of the Catholic Memorial at Ground Zero:
Many people are unaware of this memorial in New York City and the history of St. Peter’s Church that stood in the shadows of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. The church itself was built in a time of anti-Catholicism and therefore relegated to the outskirts of the city….how ironic that over time it came to be near the center and have a central role in the tragedy of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. You can read more of its history here.
The parish’s mission chapel, St. Joseph’s Chapel, was located a few blocks away—on the other side (southwest) of the Center. Although the towers and other buildings were destroyed on September 11, 2001, the two churches escaped serious direct damage and are now back in full service.
Both of these churches, of course, were strongly affected by the 9/11 disasters and were directly involved in rescue activities for some weeks and months to follow. A landing gear from one of the planes struck the roof of St. Peter’s.
There were many heroes that day. One of them was Father Mychal Judge a Franciscan Priest who was also chaplain to the New York Fire Department. He had changed the spelling of his ordained name from “Michael” to “Mychal” to reflect his Irish heritage. His was a story of courage even before the events of 9/11….we like to call him an “over-comer”. He had become an alcoholic, began attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and began ministering to other recovering alcoholics, which became an important part of his life’s work. He was also active in an AIDS ministry, not always a popular position to take in the early days of the AIDS epidemic; visiting AIDS patients in hospitals, attending funerals of those who had died from AIDS, and befriending gay activists.
On September 11, upon hearing of the first plane strike, he rushed to the site. Mayor Rudy Giuliani met him there and asked him to pray for the city. He did so, as well as praying for victims lying on the ground. He then entered the lobby of the North Tower, where he was killed by falling debris. He was the first officially recorded death of the 9/11 attacks. Firefighters carried his body into St. Peter’s Church (see the image below) and reverently placed his body before the altar.
You can view one of Father Judges homilies here. He is buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Totowa, New Jersey.
The pastor of St. Peter’s himself, Father Kevin Madigan, narrowly escaped death when he hurried out toward the flaming towers to see if he could be of help.
And, of course, many of the firemen, police officers and rescue workers and office workers were Catholics.
About the Catholic Memorial at Ground Zero:
After more than 30 artists submitted proposals, John Collier of Dallas was chosen to produce four statues as memorials to groups affected by the tragedy: St. Joseph, patron of construction workers; St. Michael the Archangel, patron of police; St. Florian, patron of firefighters, and St. Mary Magdalene, first witness to the Resurrection and “apostle to the apostles.” The special memorial has been designed to honor the heroes of 9/11 for the acts of love and courage they displayed that day, as well as to convey themes of hope and the Resurrection.
These four sculptured figures are placed along the eastern wall of St. Joseph’s Chapel, the wall closest to Ground Zero.
St. Michael is wrestling with the serpent, forcing the serpent into a pit. This suggests that, at the end of time, good wins over evil.
Mary Magdalene is included to honors those who come to the site to mourn their beloved dead; especially those who do not even have the small comfort of having had their loved ones’ remains returned to them. S. She is depicted hurrying to Jesus’ tomb on Easter morning, carrying jars of spices, to anoint His body, jars that will remain unopened because they will not have to be used – for He is risen.
Visiting The Catholic Memorial at Ground Zero:
The Lease on the Chapel was vacated in January 2018. The 9/11 Catholic Memorial has been relocated to Saint Peters Church. Although the actual address is 22 Barclay Street, the entrance is on Church Street. It is open Mon-Fri 10:30 am -3:30 pm.
Address: 22 Barclay Street, New York, NY 10007
GPS coordinates: 40° 42′ 41.8572” N, 74° 0′ 59.7996” W
Tel: +1 (212) 233-8355
e-mail: info@spcolr.org
Click here for the official website of Saint Peter’s Church & St. Joseph’s Chapel
About John Collier:
Raised in the Protestant tradition, John Collier and his wife, Shirley, completed the RCIA process at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Richardson, Texas and came in to the Catholic Church in Easter of 2010. Shirley passed away in early 2015.
“The greatest art in the history of the Western world,” he asserts, “has been commissioned by the Catholic Church.”
Mr. Collier states that he has found a deep joy in fashioning this memorial for a Christian chapel that is very close to Ground Zero.
Click here to learn more about John Collier and his work.