I’ve sent this out before but on the anniversary of the 9/11 attack I have been thinking of this act of war against our country, about the losses suffered by so many Americans and about the heroic example of a priest named Father Mychal Judge.
Mychal F. Judge was born May 11, 1933 and died September 11, 2001. He was the first recorded victim of the Muslim terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City.
He was born Robert Emmet Judge in Brooklyn, NY the son of poor Irish Catholic immigrants from County Leitrim. At the age of six, he watched his father die of a slow and painful illness. To compensate for his father’s inability to work, he shined shoes at New York Penn Station.
At the age of 15, Judge began the formation process to enter the Franciscan community. Upon entering the Order of Friars Minor, he took the religious name of Michael. He later changed the spelling to Mychal. In 1957, he graduated from St. Bonaventure University, the Franciscan university near Olean, New York. In 1961, he was ordained a priest and assigned to service at St. Joseph's RC Church in East Rutherford and Sacred Heart in Rochelle Park, both in New Jersey. He then served as assistant to the president at Siena College in Loudonville, New York. At some time he became an alcoholic but in 1978, with the support of Alcoholics Anonymous, he became sober. For the rest of his life he continued to share his personal story of alcoholism and to help others facing addiction. He was named pastor of St. Joseph's Church in West Milford, New Jersey before being appointed Chaplain of the Fire Department of New York in 1992.
Upon hearing the news that the World Trade Center had been hit by hijacked jetliners, Judge rushed to the site. He was met by the Mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani, who asked Judge to pray for the city and its victims. Judge then rushed to those lying on the streets to administer last rites. Father Judge then entered the lobby of the World Trade Center north tower, where an emergency services command post was organized. The south tower collapsed and debris filled the north tower lobby, killing many inside, including him.
Five individuals took Judge outside in their arms. Upon entering the outside courtyard, they propped his body in a chair that they found there to better carry him down the outside steps. It was then that Reuters photographer Shannon Stapleton snapped one of the most famous images of the attack, of a police officer, two firefighters and an OEM responder carrying out their fallen spiritual leader. See attached picture.
Father Judge's body bag was labeled "Victim 0001," recognized as the first official victim of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Former President Bill Clinton was among the 3,000 people who attended his funeral, held on September 15 at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Manhattan. It was presided over by Archbishop Edward Egan. Clinton said his death was "a special loss. We should live his life as an example of what has to prevail." Judge was buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Totowa, New Jersey. He was survived by two sisters, Erin McTernan and Dympna Jessich.
A campaign was begun by several American Catholics for the elevation of Father Mychal Judge to sainthood. His helmet was presented to Pope John Paul II. France awarded him the Légion d'honneur. The U.S. Congress nominated him for a Presidential Medal of Freedom. On July 27, 2002, the Orthodox-Catholic Church of America canonized Judge as St. Mychal the Martyr. See attached picture.
Jesus said, “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (
John 15:13) Mychal Judge lived his life by serving others and died in the same way. In this way his life reflected his Lord and Savior.
There is a prayer that Mychal Judge is said to have prayed every day which goes as follows:
"Lord, take me where you want me to go,
let me meet who you want me to meet,
tell me what you want me to say,
and keep me out of your way."
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