Saint of 9/11: Fr. Mychal |
by Bridget Haggerty
He was administering the Last Rites to a fallen firefighter when he himself, was struck down. There was no priest available to give Fr. Mychal Judge the final sacrament of his faith. It was up to one of his own, a NYC firefighter, to give him a traditional Roman Catholic spiritual farewell.
Even before 9/11, many people considered Fr. Mychal a hero: the firefighters for whom he served as chaplain, the homeless to whom he gave winter coats, people with AIDS to whom he ministered. But after 9/11, his hero status became official, when Fr. Mychal became the first official recorded victim of the attacks on America that day. Also, according to all accounts of his life, he possessed that rare combination of qualities that are usually attributed to saints: nobility and humility.
It was about 8:50 a.m. on September 11 when word reached the firehouse on West 31st Street about the tragedy in lower Manhattan. Thick, black smoke was already billowing skyward. At Engine Co. 1/Ladder Co. 24, the firefighters climbed into their gear and headed downtown. Across the street at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi, Mychal Judge did the same. Fellow Franciscan Fr. Brian Carroll went up to Fr. Mychal's room to inform him that a plane had just crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers. Fr. Carroll recalls that Fr. Mychal quickly took off his Franciscan habit, changed into his chaplain's uniform - and paused to comb and spray his hair. It was his one small nod to vanity - how proud he was of that silver mane! He then headed for the door. The trip from the firehouse to the friars' residence is maybe two dozen steps. It was a trip that Fr. Mike--as he was known among both the homeless and the famous-made many times since becoming FDNY chaplain in 1992.
As thousands of New Yorkers ran for their lives toward midtown, Fr. Mychal jumped in his Fire Department car. With firefighter Michael Weinberg at the wheel and the siren wailing, they sped downtown toward the World Trade Center. He arrived at the burning 110-story towers, where Mayor Giuliani spotted him. Mayor Giuliani recalls grabbing his arm and saying, 'Mychal, please pray for us.' And Mychal just looked at him with a big grin and said, 'I always do!' And then he turned and ran off with his firefighters.
Firefighters found Fr. Mychal’s lifeless body beneath a smashed fire engine and took him to St. Peter’s Church on nearby Barclay Street. They laid him in front of the altar, covered him with a white cloth and his priest’s stole before placing his helmet and chaplain’s badge on his chest. Later, he was taken to Engine 1 and Ladder 24 on West 31st Street, the location where he kept his chaplain’s car.
Nearly 3,000 people attended Fr. Mychal’s funeral Mass; immediate family, hundreds of Franciscans from Holy Name Province, other religious, uniformed members of the fire and police departments, politicians, city and state officials, and friends from all walks of life.
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