Holy Cross' 9/11 Memorial
(photo courtesy of Holy Cross)
WASHINGTON, DC - This weekend, Jesuit colleges and universities across the United States are commemorating the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, DC on September 11, 2001. From campus prayer services to lectures and symposia, Jesuit campuses will honor the memory of those who lost their lives in a variety of ways:
At Canisius College, members of the College Republicans group will place 3,000 flags on the campus quad on Friday, Sept. 9, where they will remain through Monday, Sept. 12. The college will also include remembrances in all Sunday masses.
On Friday, Sept. 9, the College of the Holy Cross History Honors Society will host a discussion titled “Growing Up in the Shadow of 9/11” for panelists and audience members to share how their perspectives on 9/11 have changed over the past decade. The college’s Chaplains' Office is sponsoring a support group for students who lost loved ones on 9/11, and a public, interfaith vigil on Sunday, Sept. 11 in Memorial Plaza (which is dedicated to members of the Holy Cross community who died during the attacks). Also on Sept. 11, the Holy Cross College Choir, student volunteers and ROTC members will take part in a statewide commemorative event titled “Mass Remembers: Voices of Hope," where they will join members of communities across Massachusetts in song to honor those who died on 9/11.
On Friday, Sept. 9, students from Creighton University's Political Science department will place American flags on the lawn of the University’s campus mall. On Sunday, Sept. 11, Creighton community members will read the names of the people who lost their lives on 9/11 at a ceremony at the Jesuit Gardens on-campus. Also on Sunday, Creighton’s School of Law and the Kripke Center for the Study of Religion and Society will sponsor an interfaith community gathering at the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, NE. On Monday, Sept. 12, Creighton’s Health Sciences Multicultural and Community Affairs will sponsor a round-table discussion on “Violence in our Community” for students in health sciences programs.
Fairfield University is hosting a five-day commemoration of 9/11, which began on Wednesday, Sept. 7 with a "Circle of Remembrance" at the Barone Campus Center Traffic Circle, where students, faculty and staff were encouraged to write reflections on postcards to post on “Reflection Walls” inside a tent on the circle. On Thursday, Sept. 8, the university hosted an interfaith prayer service and on Friday, Sept. 9, a mass will be offered in remembrance of the victims of 9/11, followed by a ceremony at the "Circle of Remembrance” and the planting of American flags in the circle. After the ceremony, the university will host a reception at the campus Alumni House, where a section from a steel beam that was part of the World Trade Center is on-display as a memorial to the 14 Fairfield alumni who died in the attacks.
Both of Fordham University's campuses will host days of community service, Sunday masses in remembrance of 9/11 and interfaith prayer services. The latter will take place on Sunday, Sept. 11 at the respective 9/11 memorials at the Rose Hill (Bronx, NY) and Lincoln Center (New York, NY) campuses.
Georgetown University has created a webpage exclusively in remembrance of 9/11 that features a schedule of events taking place on-campus throughout the weekend. The university is hosting symposia on the following topics: "Conflict Resolution: From Conflict to Peace: Innovative Approaches to Peacebuilding,” “Liberty and Tolerance in an Age of Religious Conflict,” and “The Next Ten Years in the War on Terrorism." On Friday, Sept. 9, the university is sponsoring an Interfaith Memorial Service, and on Sunday, Sept. 11, the university will sponsor a 9/11 5K Remembrance Run/Walk.
On Sunday, Sept. 11, Le Moyne College will feature special intentions for victims of 9/11 during two Catholic masses and one Protestant Christian service at the campus’s Panasci Family Chapel. Throughout the day, Le Moyne community members will be encouraged to place an American flag in front of Grewen Hall in remembrance, and to participate in a day of service throughout Syracuse, NY, with other local community members. Later in the evening, Le Moyne will host a candlelight vigil, followed by a screening and discussion of the film, World Trade Center. Later in the month, on Thursday, Sept. 22, the College will hold a one-day symposium entitled “Thinking About 9/11 Ten Years Later.”
From Sept. 10-15, Loyola University Chicago will host events for the campus community based on the theme, “Looking Back, Looking Forward: The 10th Anniversary of 9/11.” On Saturday, Sept. 10, Loyola’s School of Social Work and the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis will host a conference on “The Trauma and Terror of 9/11: 10 Years Later.” On Sunday, Sept. 11, the university will host a candlelight vigil ceremony, featuring remarks by Loyola President Rev. Michael J. Garanzini, SJ. To conclude the week, students from the Department of Fine and Performing Arts will present an artistic program featuring poetry and music, entitled “A Clear Day in Early September.”
On Saturday, Sept. 10, the Loyola University Maryland rugby team and alumni will play a game of rugby and host a reception at Sean Lugano Memorial Field, which is named in honor of a former Loyola rugby player who was killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center. On Sunday, Sept. 11, Loyola President Rev. Brian F. Linnane, SJ will preside during a Mass of the Holy Spirit at the campus Alumni Memorial Chapel.
Saint Peter’s College will host a Freshmen Day of Service in Hillside, NJ on Saturday, Sept. 10 to coincide with the 9/11 National Day of Service. On Sunday, Sept. 11, the college will offer intentions for 9/11 victims during an evening student mass. The next day, the college will host an interfaith prayer service, followed by a Mass of Remembrance in the campus Chapel. On Monday, Sept. 11, students will also be able to create a banner that expresses their memories and feelings about 9/11 at the campus Center for Personal Development.
On Sunday, Sept. 11, Seattle University will hold a 10-year anniversary ceremony to honor those lost in the 9/11 attacks, following a mass at the campus’s St. Ignatius Chapel. During the ceremony, the choir will lead the congregation in a hymn of healing and remembrance, after which university ROTC cadets will lead the assembly to plant a Peace Pole in a reflection pool in front of the chapel, where it will remain throughout the day. On Wednesday, Sept. 14, Regis University will host a prayer service for remembrance and peace in the campus chapel. Spring Hill College will remember the victims of 9/11 and their families at campus masses on Sunday, Sept. 11.
On Sunday, Sept. 11, University of Scranton President Kevin P. Quinn, SJ will celebrate a Mass of Remembrance for faculty and staff at the university’s retreat center. Other campus masses will address 9/11 in homilies. Later in the day, the university will join the Taiwan Council of Cultural Affairs, and The Taipei Cultural Center of TECO (Taipei Economic and Cultural Office), New York to sponsor an Interdependence Day and Asian Moon Festival Performance. In addition, the university will continue to host programs on 9/11 throughout the 2011-2012 academic year.
Wheeling Jesuit University will offer all of its masses on Sunday, Sept. 11 for the promotion of peace and an end to violence. During the afternoon, Wheeling’s Service for Social Action Center and AmeriCorps-Vista will co-sponsor a community-wide clean-up, "Cache In Trash Out,” across downtown Wheeling as part of the National Day of Service. The following week, Wheeling’s Jesuit Identity Team will sponsor a lunchtime discussion for university employees on the aftermath of 9/11.
On Sunday, Sept. 11, Xavier University will host its annual Spirit Celebration with a mass, followed by a “Walk of Remembrance” to the university’s new residence and dining complex; during the walk, the Xavier ROTC Color Guard will lead the procession, accompanied by a bagpiper. At the new complex, a student musical group will lead the singing of the National Anthem.
For more information, please contact Deanna Howes, AJCU Manager of Information Services
