In Solemn Ceremony, Pope Prays at Ground Zero

By MARY ANN POUST

In a quiet but emotionally powerful ceremony at Ground Zero, Pope Benedict XVI paid tribute to the victims of 9/11 and prayed for peace "in our violent world."

Accompanied by Cardinal Egan on the final morning of his six—day U.S. trip, the pope knelt in silent prayer before a pool of water and exposed earth, lit a candle in memory of the victims and sprinkled holy water on the site to bless it.

There were no cheering crowds or banners of welcome at the April 20 event—just 24 people who were invited to attend as representatives of families, survivors and first responders who were touched by the 2001 terrorist attacks that brought down the World Trade Center towers and killed 2,750 people.

In a prayer that he read as the only public statement at the ceremony, Pope Benedict asked God to bring healing "to those who, because of their presence here that day, suffer from injuries and illness,'' and to "still—grieving families and all who lost loved ones in this tragedy." The pope, who had specifically asked to visit Ground Zero during his New York visit, also prayed for God's way of love to turn around "those whose hearts and minds are consumed with hatred."

Then, while a cellist played, Cardinal Egan presented the invited guests individually to the pontiff, who offered words of consolation and hope.

Migdalia Colon, 57, of Manhattan, who was at her desk on the 23rd floor of the World Trade Center's north tower when it was struck by the hijacked plane, said of the meeting with the pope, "It was so emotional...I will treasure this for the rest of my life."

She said Pope Benedict held her hand tightly and told her he was sorry she had to go through that terrible day. "Then he blessed me," she said.

Ms. Colon, who is now the director of religious education at Sacred Heart parish in the Bronx, said by blessing the World Trade Center site the pope made it "truly hallowed ground."

"For me, it gave me closure in a way," she said. "I feel like now I can say goodbye."

The guests received papal medallions and rosaries as mementos of the occasion, given to them by a papal aide on behalf of the pope.

As they filed out, Msgr. Marc J. Filacchione, pastor of Our Lady of Victory parish in the Wall Street area and a Fire Department chaplain, and Msgr. Joseph J. Zammit, a Police Department chaplain, gave them keepsakes of 6—inch free—standing crosses fashioned from World Trade Center steel as gifts of the Fire Department and 14—inch candles with the papal coat of arms on behalf of Cardinal Egan.

When the pope and the cardinal arrived, they descended to the bedrock of the Ground Zero pit where cranes and other construction equipment used in rebuilding at the site were silent for the weekend.

They were driven in the Popemobile partway down a flag—lined construction ramp, then walked the rest of the way to the carpeted area where the guests were assembled around the pool, along with Governors David A. Paterson of New York and Jon S. Corzine of New Jersey and New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.

In the prayer he recited, the pope remembered "all who died here; the heroic first responders: our firefighters, police officers, emergency service workers, and Port Authority personnel, along with all the innocent men and women who were victims of this tragedy simply because their work or service brought them here on September 11, 2001."

He included in the prayer those killed and injured in separate, coordinated terrorist attacks that day on the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pa.

"Our hearts are one with theirs as our prayer embraces their pain and suffering," he said. After the ceremony, the papal motorcade passed in front of St. Peter's Church a few steps from the World Trade Center site, where the pope saw the famous World Trade Center Cross of steel beams that was found in the wreckage.

Return to CNY Homepage