NEW YORK — Around the Province, ministries are preparing to honor the memories of those who died during the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. The events, as announced to date, include a walk in New York City and two Masses, one celebrated by the friar who is currently the Catholic chaplain to the Fire Department of New York.
All are welcome at the 11th annual Fr. Mychal Judge Walk of Remembrance on Sept. 8, named in honor of Mychal Judge, OFM, chaplain of the Fire Department of New York, who was the first certified fatality of the terrorist attacks. The walk will begin with the recitation of the rosary at 9 a.m. at St. Francis of Assisi Church on West 31st Street in Manhattan, followed a 9:30 a.m. Mass celebrated by Christopher Keenan, OFM, FDNY chaplain.
Following the Mass, walkers will proceed from St. Francis of Assisi Church to St. Peter’s Church on Barclay Street near Ground Zero in memory of those who died in New York as well as at the Pentagon in Washington and in Shanksville, Pa. More information about the walk can be found on the event’sFacebook page.
On Sept. 11 — the 12th anniversary of the terrorist attacks — the traditional Memorial Mass for those who died at the World Trade Center, including the members of Battalion 7 of the FDNY, will be celebrated at 9:30 a.m. at the West 31st Street church located across from the fire station. Provincial Minister John O’Connor, OFM, will preside at the Mass.
That same day, St. Bonaventure Parish in Paterson, N.J., will celebrate a Mass of Remambrance to commemorate all those lives were lost during the terrorist attacks. Following the Mass, there will be a prayer service at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Totowa, N.J., at Mychal’s grave.
Also on Sept. 11, representatives of Mychal’s Message, the Pennsylvania-based organization founded to honor Mychal’s life, will distribute “Blessed Bloomers” packages to the guests of St. Francis Breadline in New York City. The packages contain underwear, socks and a T-shirt, as well as two mints and a prayer card.
The summer 2013 issue of Mychal’s Messenger, the organization’s newsletter, provides several updates on the group’s initiatives, including the Fr. Cassian A. Miles Jubilee Scholarship Fund. Cassian Miles, OFM, and Mychal were ordained as priests together at Mount St. Sepulchre Franciscan Monastery in Washington. This year’s scholarship recipients are Bridget, a freshman at a Philadelphia Catholic high school, and Jose, a freshman at a Pennsylvania community college.
Other projects mentioned in Mychal’s Messenger include the following:
• A donation of more than 50 pairs of new shoes was given to men who reside at CREATE in Harlem, N.Y., a ministry founded by Benedict Taylor, OFM
• Roughly $1,000 worth of breakfast foods was purchased and delivered to the Father English Center in Paterson, N.J.
• A group of nearly 350 inner-city children was treated to a lunch and live theater performance
— Maria Hayes is communications coordinator for Holy Name Province.