In the days and weeks following the 9/11 attacks, a record number of Americans turned to prayer and religious activities to cope with the shock and loss.
Now, as the nation prepares to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, residents of the heavily impacted Diocese of Trenton and all people of good will are invited to gather once again before God for a special 9/11 Mass of Remembrance.
Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., will serve as principal celebrant and homilist for the Mass set for Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. in St. Mary, Mother of God Church, Middletown. Priests and deacons from across Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean Counties will also participate in the Mass. For individuals who cannot attend, the Diocese will livestream the Mass at: www.youtube.com/trentondiocese.
The Mass will honor the memory of the nearly 3,000 women and men who lost their lives in New York, Arlington, Va., and Shanksville, Pa., as well as those who were injured, the first responders and emergency personnel who answered the call, and their families.
New Jersey has long been home to a great number of residents who commute into New York City for work and were therefore deeply affected by the attacks. More than 700 state residents were killed, including 150 people from the Diocese of Trenton. St. Mary Parish, Middletown, suffered the deepest losses of all the parishes in the Diocese. Other parishes significantly impacted included St. Leo the Great, Lincroft; Holy Cross, Rumson; St. James, Red Bank; Nativity, Fair Haven; St. Denis, Manasquan; St. Thomas More, Manalapan; and St. David the King, Princeton Junction.
Since the attacks, many parishes throughout the Diocese have faithfully commemorated the anniversary each year by holding Masses and prayer services and participating in community observances. Some parishes have also established permanent memorials to honor those who died, including St. Mary, Middletown. There, a memorial featuring steel beams recovered from the wreckage of one of the World Trade Center towers stands near the entrance of the parish’s St. Mary, Mother of God Church.
On the 10th anniversary of the attacks in 2011, Bishop O’Connell celebrated a Memorial Mass in St. Mary, Mother of God Church, reflecting on both the horror of the day and the compassion it inspired. “We stood on the edge of hell on Sept. 11,” he said. “But didn’t we see something else on that day and in the days that followed?” he continued. “People who linked arms without regard to color or religion or place of origin — who linked arms to reach out, to save and to embrace their fellow man.”
For more information, contact the Diocese of Trenton’s Office of Communications and Media at (609) 403-7169; dotcomm@dioceseoftrenton.org. St. Mary, Mother of God Church is located at 19 Cherry Tree Farm Rd., Middletown.
— Courtesy of the Diocese of Trenton