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By Mary Stadnyk
Associate Editor
Catholics from throughout the Diocese of Trenton will come together in prayer as the nation marks the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001.
A Diocesan Mass of Remembrance will be celebrated at 7 p.m. in St. Mary, Mother of God Church, Middletown, with Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., serving as principal celebrant and homilist. Bishop O’Connell extends an invitation to all priests of the Diocese to concelebrate and deacons to assist in the Mass. The Mass will be livestreamed on the diocesan YouTube channel 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.
In New Jersey, 734 residents were killed in the terrorist attacks, including 150 people from the Diocese of Trenton. St. Mary Parish, Middletown, suffered the greatest loss, with more parishioners killed than any other parish in the Diocese. Other parishes profoundly affected by the tragedy 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, parishes throughout the Diocese have faithfully commemorated the anniversary each year by holding Masses, prayer services and participating in community observances.
Many parishes have also established permanent memorials to honor those who died. Near the entrance of St. Mary, Mother of God Church stands a memorial that incorporates steel beams recovered from the wreckage of one of the World Trade Center towers. St. David the King Parish, Princeton Junction, created an indoor prayer space in memory of the three parishioners who lost their lives on Sept. 11.
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. “We looked into its bowels and we smelled the acrid smoke of pure evil.”
“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.”
St. Mary, Mother of God Church is located at 19 Cherry Tree Farm Rd., Middletown.
Several parishes throughout the Diocese are also planning observances. The Monitor will post a list on the website (TrentonMonitor.com) as information becomes available.