Cardinal Dolan (@CardinalDolan) video screengrab / X
CV NEWS FEED // His Eminence Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, commemorated the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks by blessing a memorial for the firefighters of FDNY Battalion 9 who lost their lives responding to the tragedy.
The Cardinal joined the “Pride of Midtown” firehouse, the firehouse of FDNY Battalion 9, for its annual event commemorating 9/11, the Good News Room reported.
After attending a breakfast for the first responders, the armed forces, their families, and the community, the Cardinal joined those present at the Firefighters Memorial Park at the Ritz Plaza. According to the Good News Room, the Cardinal gave a brief speech while family members of those impacted by 9/11 placed roses on the memorial.
The Cardinal also blessed the fire station’s memorial for the firefighters of Engine Company 54, Ladder 4, Battalion 9, who lost their lives during the 9/11 attacks.
The Cardinal then offered Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. During his homily, Cardinal Dolan reflected on the Mass readings, saying that while the first reading from St. Paul focused on the fact that even good things of the world will pass away, the Gospel focused on what will endure.
“Twenty-three years ago, we saw a bit of each tragically, didn’t we? We saw as not only two magnificent buildings but thousands and thousands of innocent lives passed away. But then we saw noble, heroic virtue, those things that endure and go on,” he said in a YouTube video of the Mass.
In another video posted to his X account on September 9, Cardinal Dolan reflected on America’s ability to come together and rebuild after the tragedy.
He recalled how in 2009, his first year as archbishop, he went to St. Peter’s Church, which he described as being “like a mortuary” after the attack.
During that visit, he recalled the pastor telling him: “Archbishop, you know what’s more important than 9/11?…. 9/12. Because 9/12 is when we… [it] was the Resurrection. We came together, we said, ‘we cannot let this vicious disaster destroy us. We gotta come together, we gotta rebuild, we gotta renew.’”
Cardinal Dolan continued, “And New York and our country did that beautifully.”