Funeral For New York City Fire Dept. Chaplain

NEW YORK, Sep 17, 01 (CWNews.com) - Thousands gathered in St. Francis of Assisi Church in Manhattan on Saturday for the funeral of Father Mychal Judge, the Franciscan friar who was a chaplain for the New York Fire Department and died last Tuesday in the attack on the World Trade Center.

"We come to bury Mychal Judge's body, but not his spirit," said Father Judge's close friend, Father Michael Duffy. "We come to bury his heart but not his love. Never his love."

Father Duffy was administering the last rites to a fallen firefighter after the first World Trade Center tower fell when he suffered a heart attack and died. Several firefighters pulled his body from the rubble, carried him to a nearby church, laid his body before the tabernacle under a sheet, and knelt to pray beside him before heading back out to the devastation.

"When we finish grieving, when we can put this all in perspective, look at how Mychal died," said Father Duffy during the funeral homily. "He was right where the action was-- where he always wanted to be. He was praying, he was talking to God, and he was helping someone."

Bagpiping firefighters led the procession of hundreds as Father Judge's body was carried to the cemetery on the top of a fire truck. Many of the firefighters remembered Father Judge as a spiritual confidant who was there for them at every significant moment in life, from weddings to baptisms to funerals, or whenever they just needed someone to talk to.

Funerals were also held on Saturday for First Deputy Fire Commissioner William Feehan and Fire Chief Peter Ganci, who were also killed last Tuesday. The three were the first firefighters buried from among the hundreds who are currently listed as missing.

Catholic World News Service - Daily News Briefs
17. september 2001