Father Judge the Irish Saint of 9/11

Sceala Philosopher Location: NYC

Saint of 9/11 presents the turbulent, restless, spiritual and remarkable journey of Father Mychal Judge. Compassionate champion of the needy and forgotten, a beloved Fire Department Chaplain, rousing Irish-American balladeer and iconoclast, Father Judge was a humble parish priest who wrestled with his own private demons while touching others in powerful and miraculous ways.
Mychal F. Judge
Father Mychal was the first official recorded victim of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
The Reverend Fr. Mychal F. Judge, OFM (May 11, 1933 – September 11, 2001) was a Roman Catholic priest of the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor, Chaplain of the Fire Department of New York and first official recorded victim of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Judge was born Robert Emmet Judge in Brooklyn, New York 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, Judge shined shoes at New York Penn Station. As he got older, he became an alcoholic. In 1978, with the support of Alcoholics Anonymous, he became sober. He continued to share his personal story of alcoholism to help others facing addiction.
Franciscan Order of Friars Minor
At the age of 15, Fr. Mychal 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's College, 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. Fr. Judge was later 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.
World Trade Center, September 11, 2001
Upon hearing the news that the World Trade Center had been hit by hijacked jetliners, Father Mychal rushed to the site. He was met by the Mayor of New York, Rudolph 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 Mychal 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 Father Mychal.
Tribute to Father Mychal Judge
American Pietà
The body of Father Mychal being carried out of the rubble by a policeman and four firefighters. This image was dubbed the American Pietà, in reference to the Pietà by Michelangelo.
Five individuals took Judge outside in their arms. Upon entering the outside courtyard, they propped his body in a chair they found to 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. Some individuals have heralded the photograph as an American Pietà, in reference to the marble sculpture by Michelangelo of the Blessed Virgin Mary cradling the lifeless body of Jesus.
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Mourning and honors
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.
St. Francis of Assisi Church could not accommodate all mourners so thousands stood outside for Father Mychal's funeral Mass.
Judge's firefighter helmet was presented to Pope John Paul II in memory of the chaplain's death.
Clinton said his death was "a special loss. We should live his life as an example of what has to prevail." Father Mychal was buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Totowa, New Jersey. He was survived by two sisters, Erin McTernan and Dympna Jessich.
Sainthood
A controversial campaign was begun by several American Catholics for the elevation of Father Mychal 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 Mychal Judge as St. Mychal the Martyr.
The Saint of 9/11
In 2006 a film, The Saint of 9/11, was released, celebrating Father Judge's life. The film includes testimonies of work colleagues and people who met him at different stages of his life.
Although there has been call within the Roman Catholic Church to have Mychal Judge canonized, there is no indication that this process is being seriously considered by the Church hierarchy. Several independent Catholic and Orthodox denominations, most notably The Orthodox-Catholic Church of America, have already declared him a saint.

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Ringfinnan Garden of Remembrance
Kinsale County Cork.
Kinsale Garden of Remembrance trees is in honor of the memory of Fr. Michael Judge, Chaplain in the New York Fire Department and his colleagues, 343 brave fire fighters, who so courageously lost their lives in New York on September 11th 2001.
The dedication ceremony was attended by Irish relatives of the deceased New York fire fighters. Many of the fire fighters were of Irish descent and the garden has been visited on a regular basis by United States visitors to Ireland. Attached to each tree is the name of each individual fireman.
The Kinsale Garden of Remembrance was thought of by Kathleen Murphy, a nurse in New York City. She was born in Ringfinnan, Kinsale and her family continue to reside there. The first tree planting ceremony took place in November 2001 and this was followed by an official dedication of the garden on 10th March 2002 by the then Minister for Agriculture & Food, Joe Walsh, T.D.
Many of the Firefighters who gave there life that day, were of Irish descent, and this was thought an ideal way to honor their heritage and bravery. A Memorial tree to their bravery and to show that their homeland is proud of them.
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To get to Ringfinnan from Kinsale, go past the Trident Hotel along the road road running parallel with the Bandon River in the direction of Cannon Duggan Bridge. At the bridge, turn left and go over the bridge, then take a right turn. After 200 yards, turn right up the hill to Ringfinnan following the signpost for the memorial

Just some of the bravest of the brave.
Irish American fire fighters who died September 11
The Irish American heroes of the New York City Fire Department.
Patrick O'Keefe
Thomas McCann
Thomas Hannafin
William Feehan
Eugene Whelan
Thomas O'Hagan
Michael Quilty
Joseph Farrelly
Gerard Duffy
Patrick Lyons
Kenneth Phelan
Paul Keating
Brian Ahearn
Dennis Carey
Kevin Reilly
Thomas Kelly
Thomas Butler
Dennis Mulligan
Thomas Cullen III
Thomas Foley
Dennis Devlin
Brian Sweeney
Michael Mullan
Michael Lyons
Joseph Maloney
Christopher Sullivan
Raymond Murphy
Patrick Byrne
John Fanning
Peter Brennan
Daniel O'Callaghan
Peter Carroll
Joseph Leavey
Thomas Kelly
John Tierney
Martin Egan Jr
Michael Cawley
Michael Carroll
Michael Lynch
William O'Keefe
Frank Callahan
Raymond Downey
Gerard Nevins
Michael Clarke
John Collins
Michael Boyle
Thomas Kennedy
Brian McAleese
John Heffernan
Terrence Farrell
Matthew Ryan
Michael Lynch
John McAvoy
Michael Brennan
John Bergin
Edward Geraghty

The bravest of the brave are with God at Peace.

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Father Judge the Irish Saint of 9/11

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