Twenty-five years ago, I was the newly installed Bishop of Bridgeport, Conn. I was still learning the rhythm of my new diocese – its priests, its people and its parishes – when routine meetings called me away to Washington, D.C., for a conference. It concluded Sept. 10, 2001. I flew back to the New York area with two friends, looking forward to spending the following day together.
The Unthinkable Morning
The next morning, after Mass and breakfast, we were mapping out our day when my priest secretary burst into the room.
“Turn on your TV immediately!”
In an instant, our plans dissolved. Like millions around the globe, we stood paralyzed, watching in horror as the Twin Towers collapsed and thousands of innocent lives were extinguished.
A Shepherd’s Response
I quickly realized that many of my parishioners worked in the World Trade Center. Driven by an urgent need to be with my flock, I arranged to offer Mass at St. Augustine Cathedral in Bridgeport. As the hours unfolded, I also celebrated unannounced, yet well attended, Masses at St. John’s in Stamford and St. Thomas Aquinas in Fairfield.
Throughout that harrowing day, I went to meet incoming trains from New York, simply to stand with commuters emerging dazed and traumatized by what they had witnessed. I checked local hospitals for burn victims; finding none, I understood the grim reality: the vast majority had not survived.
Grief and Heroism
What followed was a relentless, agonizing search through the rubble. As names were identified, the agonizing weeks of funerals began. I sat with spouses, children and parents trying to make sense of the unimaginable and piece their shattered lives back together. Through it all, I was deeply moved by the tireless, tender pastoral care shown by my fellow priests to the grieving.
Yet, amid the darkness, extraordinary heroism illuminated the day. First responders – firefighters, police officers, EMTs, paramedics, Port Authority officers and chaplains – rushed directly into the burning towers. Many of these responders gave their lives or carried lifelong injuries. The same profound sacrifice was witnessed at the Pentagon and aboard Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pa. Nearly 3,000 souls perished that day, including 343 firefighters, 72 law enforcement officers and 55 military personnel, followed by thousands more responders whose later illnesses stemmed from their selfless recovery efforts at Ground Zero.
A Collective Conscience
Those old enough will never forget where they stood on Sept. 11. But personal memory is not enough; this tragedy must remain etched into our nation’s collective consciousness.
Reflecting on that day, Pope John Paul II declared:
“No situation of injustice, no sentiment of frustration, no philosophy or religion can justify such a deadly assault. … Terrorism is and always will be a manifestation of inhuman ferocity. … Freedom and peace can only come from truth and justice.”
To truly honor those we lost and the legendary courage of our first responders, we must never forget. Let no one believe that terrorism or violence can ever resolve injustice. Instead, let each of us ask whether we are actively fostering a more peaceful world or fueling division within our own spheres of influence.
Then, let us bow before the Lord, “who will judge the world with justice and the peoples with his truth” (Ps 96).
Archbishop William E. Lori will offer the 12:10 p.m. Mass Sept. 11 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York, at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pa.
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