With heavy hearts, the faithful of the Paterson Diocese, N.J., will join all Americans next Friday to solemnly and prayerfully commemorate the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 — a day of horror and loss that devastated the United States and forever changed the country and the world.
On that sad anniversary, several parishes, including the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson, N.J., and other faith communities across the diocese will hold memorial Masses and prayer services. They will pray for the souls of the victims, God’s continued comfort for their families and friends, the safety of first responders, and for God’s peace for the world.
The 25th anniversary hits especially hard for residents in the diocese and the wider Tri-State area. Many of them had loved ones —or knew people —who were murdered in the attacks on that tragic day. All those who witnessed the brutality of 9/11 will never forget it.
Close to home, Father Mychal Judge, a Franciscan friar and former pastor of St. Joseph’s Parish in West Milford, N.J., was killed while serving with the N.Y. Fire Department at Ground Zero. He is buried at Holy Sepulcher Cemetery in Totowa, N.J. Father Daniel Murphy, now a retired diocesan priest, lost his younger brother, Edward Murphy, in the attack on the North Tower. Several priests ministered to law enforcement, fire departments, and recovery workers at Ground Zero.
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On the 25th anniversary, St. John’s Cathedral, the diocese’s mother church, will hold a Mass of Remembrance at 7 p.m. Personnel from local police and fire departments and the FBI have been invited. The liturgy will include ringing a bell and playing bagpipes to honor the victims. Information: call 973-345-4070.
“We will pray for those who have died in the attacks, those who are keeping us safe, and for an end to terrorism,” said Msgr. Geno Sylva, St. John’s rector and diocesan vicar for special projects. He ministered at the Ground Zero morgue the day after 9/11 and on site thereafter.
Next Friday, Bishop Sweeney will celebrate a Mass of Remembrance specifically for the diocesan pastoral staff of the chapel of St. Paul Inside the Walls in Madison, N.J. It will be “an opportunity to pray for the fallen and to share some time as a diocesan family, remembering our common mission to be instruments of peace,” according to the diocese.
St. Christopher Parish in Parsippany, N.J., will hold a Memorial Mass at 8:45 a.m. in the church. Parishioners, families, neighbors, and friends are invited. Information: call 973-539-7050.
“As people of faith, we will gather not only to remember but also to pray for eternal rest for those who perished, for comfort for those who still carry the pain of loss, for the men and women who continue to serve our communities and country, and for God’s gift of peace throughout our nations and the world,” St. Christopher’s states in its bulletin announcement. “May we never forget the lives entrusted to God’s mercy on that September morning and may we honor their memory by building a future rooted in compassion, unity and hope, trusting in God’s enduring love,” the parish states.
The Shrine of St. Joseph, operated by the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity in the Stirling neighborhood of Long Hill Township, N.J., will hold an ecumenical prayer service at 7 p.m. in the chapel. Participants will gather “to remember and pray for peace,” according to the shrine.
Local clergy members who attend St. Joseph’s service will share in the prayers and reflections on peace. The shrine will also honor local first responders for their continued support of the community.
After St. Joseph’s service, participants will process outside to the Tower of Remembrance, which incorporates vertical rusted steel girders from the World Trade Center’s North Tower that set between an ascending column of bells. It is a spiritual site for grieving families and annual ecumenical vigils. Information: call 908-647-0208.
At 7 p.m. on the anniversary, Annunciation Parish in Wayne, N.J., will hold a Commemoration Mass, celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop Manuel Cruz of the Newark Archdiocese, N.J. Information: call 973-694-5700.
St. Philip the Apostle Parish in Clifton, N.J., will hold a Mass of Remembrance at 7 p.m. Earlier that day, the parish will also hold a holy hour for peace after the 9 a.m. Mass. Information: call 973-779-6200.
For the anniversary, St. Jude the Apostle Parish in Hardyston, N.J., will hold a recitation of the Patriotic Rosary at 6 p.m., a Memorial Mass at 6:30 p.m. and holy hour after the Mass until 8 p.m. Information: call 973-827-8030.
“We will pray for those who were lost, including the many who died of 9/11-related illnesses, many long after the attack; for the victims who are still suffering from mental illness; for the families; for our country; and for peace,” said Father Michael Rodak, pastor of St. Jude’s and diocesan pilgrimage director. He expressed hope that the 9/11 events will educate young people, many of whom were not yet born at the time of the attacks.
For an BeaconNJ.org archive story about the various memorials for the victims of the 9/11 attacks in the Paterson Diocese, N.J., that can be visited, click here.
