Hundreds of parishioners and representatives of the Fire Department of New York (FDNY), New York Police Department (NYPD), and branches of the U.S. Armed Services joined members of the Notre Dame Club of Staten Island for the 23rd Annual Eve of Solemn Remembrance at Our Lady of Pity Church to commemorate 9/11 and all those who died on that day, especially Staten Islanders. 

The Mass opened with an entrance march performed by The Staten Island Pipes and Drums, followed by the entrance hymn, “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” led by The Molloy Group. 

Archbishop of New York retired Auxiliary Bishop John O’Hara, a native of Staten Island, said, “We gather tonight to remember a day we would like to forget,” in his homily. 

Faith in the midst of tragedy 

Bishop O’Hara spoke movingly and at length about a visit in the 1980s to Staten Island by the late Archbishop of New York, John Cardinal O’Connor. Cardinal O’Connor had gathered 400-500 high school students from the area, and said he would answer any questions they had. One asked if he had ever doubted his faith.  

Cardinal O’Connor told the student that yes, he had. “He weaved a tale about the horror, pain, and agony of being a Marine Corps chaplain in Vietnam,” Bishop O’Hara said, recounting trauma that led the cardinal to question his faith.  

After a dark period of doubt, one day, while celebrating Mass in the field, Cardinal O’Connor’s eyes landed upon a hand crucifix that he had placed upon the altar. “Deep down inside of him, there was a feeling, a presence, a voice: ‘John O’Connor, look at me on this cross! I did this so that they would live! Look at me on this cross! I did all of this so that they would live!’” His darkness started to dissipate from that point, Bishop O’Hara said. 

“How often he would remind us that we are never closer to the Lord as we are when we bear the cross of illness, or tragedy, or whatever it happened to be, because when Christ was totally helpless on that cross, He saved the human race, He turned the world upside down and inside out, and you and I are invited to participate in that mystery every time we come to Mass,” Bishop O’Hara said.  

Linking that experience to 9/11, he told the story of a Manhattan priest that he would not name, who began running toward the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center after each had been hit by a plane. “Deep down inside, like Cardinal O’Connor, there was that inner voice, that direction, that said, ‘Raise your hand in absolution.’ As he raised his hand to give absolution to everyone in those towers, the first tower came down.” He referred to a cross, found in the ruins of the fallen towers, formed from two steel girders. “Our Lord is saying to us, as he did to Cardinal O’Connor, ‘I did this so that they would live forever!’ That horrible day has led to an outpouring of charity, of good works, of initiatives such as Tunnel to Towers. We must take that cross into ourselves, and allow it to animate within ourselves the good that we can do for others in their name.” 

A solemn remembrance, linking past and present 

Following the homily, the names of Staten Islanders who died on September 11 were read aloud by high school students who had not yet been born in 2001. That list included 138 Fire Department of New York firefighters, two Port Authority Police Department officers, and two New York Police Department officers. Also read aloud were the names of first responders, firefighters, and police officers who have since died due to 9/11-related illnesses, such as cancer caused by exposure to toxic substances in the aftermath of the attack.  

After the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the electric lights in the church were extinguished, and with only a few candles lit on the altar, The Staten Island Pipes and Drums returned to the sanctuary to perform “Amazing Grace.” 

Auxiliary Bishop Peter Byrne, the Mass’ principal celebrant, offered a final blessing. Concelebrants included Father John Wroblewski. 

“It’s to remember, and it’s for Staten Island. Staten Island is unique in a lot of ways. The next two years are important. So I’m sure it will keep going,” Tom Ventrudo, president of the Notre Dame Club of Staten Island, told The Good Newsroom after the Mass. 

Joe Delaney, a former president of the Notre Dame Club, emphasized the importance of engaging young people, even those born after 2001. “We never want them to forget. And nothing we can feel for the families is more reassuring than the beauty of our Catholic liturgy. The Mass, the reading of the names, the hymns, it’s very consoling. So many people who suffered their losses were here with us tonight.” 

Deacon Jim Cowan, who serves at Staten Island’s Church of the Sacred Heart, had a particular connection to 9/11. “I was in the North Tower on September 10 and was scheduled to go back to a business meeting on September 11. So as the old saying goes, ‘there but for the grace of God go I.’” It was that series of events that helped guide Deacon Jim toward his vocation. “I decided that after that day, I was spared to do something better. So I prepared, and then retired several years later, and then began preparation to become a deacon.”