Staten Island, New York: Alba House Wayside Shrine

Alba House Wayside Shrine is located on the grounds of Pauline Publishing, a major Catholic publishing house run by the Society of St. Paul.

The members of this order are known as the Paulines (not to be confused with the Paulists) and, as per the example of their order’s namesake, their mission is worldwide evangelization utilizing all the communication tools available to modern man. As such, they are a major, multilingual publishing and multimedia ministry.

Relationship of Alba House Wayside Shrine to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation:

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which builds mortgage-free accessible homes for physically disabled military veterans, Gold Star families, and survivors of fallen service members was founded in 2002 to honor the late New York City firefighter Stephen Siller.

Stephen Siller, 34, born in to a large Catholic family and the youngest of seven children of Mae and George Siller, Because his parents were very close to the Franciscan order, they taught him to live by the philosophy of Saint Francis of Assisi. Stephen was very fond of the saint’s saying “while we have time, let us do good“.

He was a firefighter assigned to the FDNY’s Squad 1, an elite Special Operations Command (SOC) unit based in Brooklyn. As one of eight special operations squads, they provided citywide specialized capabilities—including technical rescue, high-angle rescue, and hazardous materials.  On the morning of September 11, 2001, Stephen Siller had just finished a long night on call. At 8:46 a.m. on his way by car to a round of golf with his brothers, he received the alert on the scanner that he always carried with him. The alarm was raised that a plane had crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. At that moment, Stephen called his wife Sally and asked her to inform his brothers that he would join their golf game later. He turned around and returned to the Squad 1 station to change and grab his equipment.

When he arrived with the truck at the entrance to the Battery Tunnel (which connects Brooklyn to Manhattan), it was closed for security reasons. Determined to join his comrades on squad 1 in saving the many people who were trapped in the Twin Towers, he dressed in full firefighter’s gear weighing 59 pounds (27 kg) and ran through the 3 mile (5 km) tunnel as fast as he could.

This was to be his final call: Squad One lost 12 of 27 members on that day, including Stephen Siller.

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation:

Siller’s heroic trek from the tunnel to the Twin Towers is the reason the foundation is called Tunnel to Towers. In honor of Stephen Siller, a 5K run and walk is held annually, sponsored by The Tunnel to Towers Foundation. Events are held nationwide, with the flagship NYC run occurring on the last Sunday of September, raising funds for 9/11 victims, first responders, and military heroes.

About Alba House in Staten Island, New York:

In 2024 he Tunnels to Towers Foundation purchased the 4-acre property from the Society of Saint Paul for $17 million.

There are currently three buildings on the site, including a residence where priests and brothers live.

Alba House has provided a respite for people seeking a little quiet time to pray and gather their thoughts amid the hustle and bustle of city life.  This was especially true right after 9/11 when New Yorkers were still reeling from the attack on the World Trade Center. In the days and weeks after the attack, many people arrived at Alba House to pray for the victims and their families.

The Shrine features an adoration chapel, with Perpetual Adoration.

Traveling to Alba House Wayside Shrine in Staten Island, New York:

Address: 2187 Victory Blvd, Staten Island, NY 10314

Phone: +1 (718) 761-0047

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