The 9-11 Foundation encourages everyone to attend a religious event to remember September 11.

The foundation does not endorse a specific church, faith, or belief, but we do recognize the selfless sacrifice of Roman Catholic priest, Father Mychal Judge, who was a chaplain for the Fire Department of New York on September 11, 2011.

Father Mychal Judge was a Franciscan friar and per a NPR report was a “true New York character.” He was born in Brooklyn in May 1933 and most would say Judge knew everyone in the city, from the homeless to the mayor.

Judge arrived at the World Trade Center shortly after the first plane hit on September 11, 2001. As firefighters and rescue personnel ran into the North Tower, he ran with them.

Father Judge is a shining example of the powerful personal motivation from acting positively on your faith and we hope everyone attends a service to consider the lives lost and how we can better represent our common humanity towards one another.

Mychal Judge spent his freshman year at the St. Francis Preparatory School in Brooklyn, where he studied under the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn.

At the age of 15, in 1948, Judge began the formation process to enter the Order of Friars Minor. He transferred to St. Joseph’s Seraphic Seminary in Callicoon, New York, the minor seminary of the Holy Name province of the Order. After graduation, he enrolled at St. Bonaventure University.

After completing his year of formation, he received the religious habit and professed his first vows as a member of the Order. At that time, he was given the religious name of Fallon Michael. He later dropped ‘Fallon’ and changed ‘Michael’ to Mychal.

He professed his solemn vows as a full member of the Order in 1958. Following this, he did his theological studies at Holy Name College Seminary in Washington, D.C. Upon completing these studies in 1961, he was ordained a priest.

After his ordination, Judge was assigned to the Shrine of St. Anthony in Boston and served various parishes there.

In 1986 he was assigned to St. Francis of Assisi Church in Manhattan, where he had first come to know the friars. He lived and worked there until his death.

Around 1971, Judge developed alcoholism, although he never showed obvious signs. In 1978, with the support of Alcoholics Anonymous, he became sober and continued to share his personal story of alcoholism to help others facing addiction.

In 1992, Judge was appointed a chaplain to the New York City Fire Department. As chaplain, he offered encouragement and prayers at fires, rescues, and hospitals, and counseled firefighters and their families, often working 16-hour days. “His whole ministry was about love. Mychal loved the fire department and they loved him.”

Judge was also well known in the city for ministering to the homeless, the hungry, recovering alcoholics, people with AIDS, the sick, injured, and grieving, immigrants, gays and lesbians, and those alienated by society. Judge once gave the winter coat off his back to a homeless woman in the street, later saying, “She needed it more than me.”

When he anointed a man who was dying of AIDS, the man asked him, “Do you think God hates me?” Judge picked him up, kissed him, and silently rocked him in his arms.

Judge worked with St. Clare’s Hospital, which opened the city’s first AIDS ward, in order to start an active AIDS ministry. He visited hospitals and AIDS patients and their families, presided over many funerals, and counseled other prominent gay Catholics like Brendan Fay and John McNeill.

Judge continued to be an advocate for gay rights throughout the rest of his life, marching in pride parades and attending other gay events.

Even before his death, many considered Judge to be a living saint for his extraordinary works of charity and his deep spirituality.

While praying, he would sometimes “become so lost in God, as if lost in a trance that he’d be shocked to find several hours had passed.” Judge’s spiritual director, the late Jesuit John J. McNeill, observed that Judge achieved an “extraordinary degree of union with the divine. We knew we were dealing with someone directly in line with God.”

Eleven Ways To Remember 9-11: Attend A Religious Event

Father Mychal Judge is a shining example we should never forget. He encourages all with his focus on service and consideration of others. We hope you will consider ways you can remember 9-11 and act on them not only in September 2021, but every day of the year.

Day One: Learn CPR 

Day Two: Volunteer

Day Three: Less Partisanship

Day Four: Donate Blood

Donate blood today. An important way to remember September 11 is to donate blood – a gift that can not be replaced or duplicated.

There is a constant need for a regular supply of blood because it can be stored only for a limited period of time before it must be used. Whole blood, platelets, and Packed Red Blood Cells (PRBCs) all have different storage requirements and time limits, but all too often blood banks are short of blood they need. Regular blood donation by a sufficient number of healthy people is needed to make sure we have blood products for trauma patients, pregnant women with complications at childbirth, patients with cancer, and many others.

Blood is one of the the most precious gifts anyone can give to another person – the gift of life. A decision to donate your blood can save a life, or even several if your blood is separated into its components – red cells, platelets and plasma – which can be used individually for patients with specific conditions.

Still not convinced?

There are roughly 350 million people currently live in the United States. Every year almost seven million will donate blood.

Annually, this adds up to about 13.5 million units of whole blood donated in the United States. Additionally, it is important for blood banks to maintain diversity in the blood supply. Some blood types are very rare and are likeliest to be found among people with shared ancestral origins. These donors provide a source of life saving blood supply.

Eleven Ways To Remember 9-11: Donate Blood

We should never forget 9-11, but we should also never forget we can make a major difference in someone else’s life donating blood today while remembering yesterday.

Day One: Learn CPR 

Day Two: Volunteer

Day Three: Less Partisanship

Today we ask our readers and followers to try for less partisanship and lower the volume of our national conversations as we focus on how people can remember 9-11. This week we started a series focused on how people can remember 9-11.

Another memory many Americans have from September 11 attacks is how people came together immediately after the attacks in New York (NY), Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

Neighbors who drove by their local police precinct or firehouse without a second thought were baking food for responders. Schools and community groups talked about how America would be united in her response. Even politicians got along for a short period of time before considering how their actions may help or hurt their own party or the opposition.

Through all of it though, we feel America  was untied, if only for a few historic moments. We hope Americans will heal their divisions and find more time for conversation and listening and less time for yelling and recriminations.

According to a Pew Research piece, partisanship continues to be the dividing line in the American public’s political attitudes, far surpassing differences by age, race and ethnicity, gender, educational attainment, religious affiliation or other factors. Yet there are substantial divisions within both parties on fundamental political values, views of current issues and the severity of the problems facing the nation.

Negative partisanship is the tendency of some voters to form their political opinions primarily in opposition to political parties they dislike. We hope that Americans are choosing their political stands not based on person or party, but on belief in issues.

There are many small ways for friends and neighbors to talk through issues in a cordial. non threatening manner. The goal of the 9-11 Foundation is to never forget that day and hope we can heal our own fractures as we lead the world.

Eleven Ways To Remember 9-11: Less Partisanship

We hope that a little less partisanship and a little more community spirit will lead our neighbors to find reasons to take CPR together or volunteer at their local school. We really are better together.

Day One: Learn CPR 

Day Two: Volunteer

Today we encourage you to volunteer. Yesterday we started a series focused on how people can remember 9-11.

One memory many responders have from the September 11 attacks is the sense of community as Americans from all walks of life joined in to provide assistance to responders, neighbors, and even strangers. Volunteering in your community does not have to happen because of tragedy. You can start today with small steps. Identify what you care about and find a way to support their mission.

It may be to end hunger, support your local schools, or even be a volunteer firefighter. Organizations across the nation are looking for volunteers in your community.

People choose to volunteer for any number of reasons. Some people enjoy the community service aspect. Others look for small ways to contribute to their neighborhoods. Some people find that volunteering is an opportunity to develop new skills or use existing experience and knowledge to tackle local issues.

Your motivation may be different from the person volunteering next to you, but you it is still a positive for our shared world.

Being a neighbor volunteering your time will also connect you with others who share your interests. One of the best ways to make new friends or strengthen a current relationship is to commit to a shared activity. By working together on a task you will both meet new people, but find it increases your tie to a community. As a regular volunteer following your passions you will also broaden your support network, exposing you to people with common interests, local resources, and other fun and fulfilling activities.

There are many small ways to contribute to organizations big and small. If you are unsure of where to begin, the 9-11 Foundation is seeking virtual volunteers for a long term project that will require a number of people with basic writing experience. Our goal is to never forget that day.

Eleven Ways To Remember 9-11

Day One: Learn CPR