NEW YORK — A variety of events to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks is planned for the New York City area. Many, including those below, are being held by the friars and by organizations affiliated with the Province.
The annual Mychal Judge Walk with Stephen McDonald will be held Sept. 7 after a 9:30 a.m. Mass celebrated by Christopher Keenan, OFM, in the lower church of St. Francis of Assisi on West 31st Street, Manhattan. The rosary will be recited at 9:10 a.m. with Stephen and his wife Patty. The walk will commence immediately afterwards from the firehouse, Christopher said, adding that “Stephen may not be able to make the journey in his wheelchair.”
On Wednesday afternoon, Kelly Ann Lynch, author of the best-selling and award-winning He Said Yes, The Story of Father Mychal Judge, will be signing copies of her children’s book at the 9/11 memorial exhibit in St. Paul’s Chapel on Church Street in lower Manhattan. Lynch, who knew Mychal Judge, OFM, the former chaplain of the New York City Fire Department, her entire life, will sign books on Sept. 10 from 2 to 5:00 p.m. On Sept. 11, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., she will sign copies of the book at St. Francis of Assisi Church, in the reception area of the office building, or “Francis House,” on West 31st Street.
Signed copies of He Said Yes will also be available at St. Francis of Assisi Bookstore, 135 West 31st St. The bookstore is the largest resource for devotional items and faith-oriented books in New York and has become one of the most prominent bookstores in Manhattan.
“Copies of He Said Yes sell as quickly as we put them on our shelves,” said St. Francis of Assisi Bookstore manager Maria Peraza recently. Lynch, who lives in Lancaster, Pa., with her husband and children, founded Mychal’s Message in 2002.
The annual Sept. 11 Mass for St. Francis and the FDNY Battalion 7 (four local firehouses in the neighborhood) will be celebrated by Christopher, the FDNY chaplain, Sept. 11 at 9:30 a.m. in the upper church.
On Nov. 9, the Fr. Julian Deeken, OFM, Memorial Mass for FDNY Holy Name Society will be celebrated with a 9:30 a.m. Mass in the lower church on West 31st Street.
In related news, funding for the student exchange program being established by St. Bonaventure University to honor Mychal Judge has been approved. According to a recent issue of the Irish Echo, Senator Charles Schumer of New York announced the funding. The program will provide American and Irish students the opportunity to learn about the cultures of both countries. Mychal, though born in Brooklyn, had Irish roots.