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*[http://statenisland.pastperfect-online.com/00039cgi/mweb.exe?request=record;id=F66061E2-A7CB-484B-BAAF-043658401637;type=102 September 11 Memorial Tattoo with Image of World Trade Center Cross]
*[http://statenisland.pastperfect-online.com/00039cgi/mweb.exe?request=record;id=F66061E2-A7CB-484B-BAAF-043658401637;type=102 September 11 Memorial Tattoo with Image of World Trade Center Cross]
*{{Cite web | title = NY judge tosses lawsuit over Sept. 11 steel cross | work = The Big Story | accessdate = 2013-04-01 | url = http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ny-judge-tosses-lawsuit-over-sept-11-steel-cross }}
*{{Cite web | title = NY judge tosses lawsuit over Sept. 11 steel cross | work = The Big Story | accessdate = 2013-04-01 | url = http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ny-judge-tosses-lawsuit-over-sept-11-steel-cross }}
*[The Cross and The Towers documentary film on the 9/11 WTC Cross]



{{DEFAULTSORT:World Trade Center Cross}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:World Trade Center Cross}}

Revision as of 16:17, 1 April 2013

The cross installed on a pedestal at Ground Zero circa 2003

The World Trade Center cross, also known as the Ground Zero cross, is a group of steel beams found amidst the debris of the World Trade Center following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks which resembles the proportions of a Christian cross.

Background

The World Trade Center was built using prefabricated parts which were bolted or welded together at the site.[1] This process dramatically reduced construction time and costs. Using this process, t-beams and other types of cross beams were created and used in each of the World Trade Center buildings.[2] When the Twin Towers collapsed, it sent debris down on to 6 World Trade Center, and gutted the interior of World Trade Center 6. In the midst of the WTC6 debris was this intact cross beam, which its discoverer believes came from the North Tower.[3][4]

Discovery

Following the terrorist attacks, a massive operation was launched to clear the site and attempt to find any survivors amongst the rubble. On September 13 a worker at the site named Frank Silecchia discovered a 20 foot (6.1 meter)[5] cross of two steel beams amongst the debris of 6 World Trade Center.[6] Those with access to the site used the cross as a shrine of sorts, leaving messages on it or praying before it.[7][8]

After a few weeks within the cleanup site the cross was an impediment to nearby work, so Silecchia and others working on the project received an expedited approval from the office of New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani to erect it on a pedestal on a portion of the former plaza on Church Street near Liberty. It was moved by crane on October 3 and installed on October 4,[9][10] where it continued as a shrine and tourist attraction.[2] The cross has remained during reconstruction, but in the 2004 and 2005 filings of its site plan, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey indicated that "additional remnants" of the original World Trade Center might require removal and storage during construction of the World Trade Center Transportation Hub.[11]

Cultural response

Some saw the crossed metal as a Christian cross and felt its survival was symbolic. Fr. Brian Jordan OFM, a Roman Catholic Franciscan priest, spoke over it and declared it to be a "symbol of hope... [a] symbol of faith... [a] symbol of healing".[7] One minister at the site says that when a family of a man who died in the attacks came to the cross shrine and left personal effects there, "It was as if the cross took in the grief and loss. I never felt Jesus more."[12]

A replica has been installed at the gravesite of Father Mychal Judge, a New York Fire Department chaplain who was killed in the collapse of WTC 1 on September 11.[13] Other surviving crossbeams were salvaged from the rubble; one was given to a Far Rockaway, New York chapter of the Knights of Columbus in 2004.[14] Another replica cross was fashioned by ironworkers from Trade Center steel and installed at Graymoor, the Upper West Side headquarters of the Society of the Atonement, a religious institute of Franciscan friars.[15]

The nearby St. Paul's Chapel, which survived the destruction and was a refuge for survivors and site laborers, sells various replicas of the cross including lapel pins and rosaries.[16] The cross even inspired laborers on "The Pile" to get tattoos.[17]

In addition, a documentary film titled The Cross and The Towers, which was released in 2006, tells the story of the 9/11 World Trade Center Cross. It has won a "number of awards, including the Audience Choice Award at Palm Beach International Festival, Best Film at Gloria Film Festival, Crystal Heart at Heartland Film Festival and finalist in the USA FilmFestival.[18][19][20]

The potential use of the cross in the World Trade Center Memorial has been controversial. Many groups such as families of certain Christian victims want the cross to be included.[21] Other organizations disagree, notably the American Atheists (who have filed suit pertaining to this issue)[22] as well as the Coalition for Jewish Concerns.[23] Alternatively, the Anti-Defamation League (another Jewish group) issued a statement that it "fully supports the inclusion in the National September 11 Memorial & Museum of the metal beams in the shape of a cross found in the rubble at Ground Zero in the aftermath of the tragic attacks on 9/11."[24]

Relocation efforts

Fr. Jordan has been trying to preserve the cross since April 2006.[25] St. Peter's Church, which faces the World Trade Center site, was proposed as a temporary spot for relocation during construction of the new PATH station and office tower at the site.[26] The cross was eventually moved to St. Peter's on October 5, 2006 and sat on the Church Street side of the building, between Barclay and Vesey Streets bearing a plaque which reads "The Cross at Ground Zero – Founded September 13, 2001; Blessed October 4, 2001; Temporarily Relocated October 15, 2006. Will return to WTC Museum, a sign of comfort for all."[27]

On July 23, 2011, the cross was blessed by Rev. Brian Jordan during a short ceremony before being loaded on a flatbed truck and moved back to Ground Zero and lowered into the National September 11th Memorial and Museum due to being a large scale artifact, before filling in the rest of the museum displays.[28]

See also

References

  1. ^ Leslie E. Robertson Associates – Historical project page from engineering firm that designed the center. Accessed April 5, 2006.
  2. ^ a b McKinley, Stephen (August 28 – September 3, 2002). "Priest Wants WTC Cross Memorial Preserved". Gotham Gazette/Irish Echo.
  3. ^ "Frank Silecchia, a construction worker, and Father Brian Jordan, a Franciscan priest, discuss the metal cross that they found at ground zero and the faith it offers". CBS News, The Early Show (interview). October 5, 2001.
  4. ^ "Cross Purposes". Snopes. March 8, 2008. Retrieved April 17, 2008.
  5. ^ Careless, Sue (September 11, 2002). "For ten arduous months Frank Silecchia toiled in hell at Ground Zero". Bible Network News. Retrieved November 7, 2008. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) [dead link]. Article on Frank Silecchia, one year later.
  6. ^ Dreher, Rod (September 23, 2001). "Holy Symbols Of Hope Amid The Rubble". NY Post. Library of Congress September 11 Web Archive: p27. Retrieved November 7, 2008. {{cite journal}}: |page= has extra text (help)
  7. ^ a b WTC Cross on Snopes by Barbara and David P. Mikkelson updated September 11, 2003. Retrieved April 3, 2006.
  8. ^ Collins, Glenn (March 23, 2005). "Port Authority Spells Out Efforts to Save Trade Center Remnants". New York Times. Retrieved April 6, 2006.
  9. ^ Mysteries for September 11 News, copyright 2001–2003. Retrieved April 3, 2006.
  10. ^ Letter to Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. Accessed April 5, 2006. Archived 2005-12-19 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ PATH restoration plan, final approval received July 2005.
  12. ^ Lutheran Disaster Response New York Accessed April 6, 2006.
  13. ^ 9/11 victims remembered at Graymoor from Irish Echo, at Mychal Judge memorial site. Accessed April 5, 2006.
  14. ^ K of C to Dedicate WTC Cross to 9/11 victims for the Rockawave on September 10, 2004. Retrieved April 3, 2006.
  15. ^ Mary Ann Poust (September, 2003). "Second anniversary of Sept. 11 attacks to be marked with church bells and prayer". Catholic New York. Retrieved April 6, 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) [dead link]
  16. ^ St. Paul's Chapel website
  17. ^ "Tattoo unites WTC's laborers; cross a reminder "of all that hell"". From the Laborers Network. Retrieved April 5, 2006.
  18. ^ Schapiro, Jeff (September 8, 2011). "Documentary Shows How WTC Cross Brought Hope After 9/11 Tragedy". The Christian Post. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  19. ^ "Documentary Shows How WTC Cross Brought Hope After 9/11 Tragedy". CBN. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  20. ^ Moring, Mark (September 6, 2011). "Documentary Examines 9/11 Cross at WTC". Christianity Today. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  21. ^ Celeste Katz (October 5, 2002). "Families want 9/11 cross in memorial". New York Daily News. Retrieved April 6, 2006.
  22. ^ Kirpalani, Reshma. "American Atheists Sue Over World Trade Center Cross". ABC Newws. Retrieved July 27, 2011.
  23. ^ Levy, Julia (May 14, 2003). "WTC Cross: Sign From God or Debris?". The New York Sun.
  24. ^ http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/adl-okays-world-trade-center-cross-1.383957
  25. ^ "Fr. Brian Fights For WTC Cross". WileyRein. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
  26. ^ "Priest tries to safeguard cross at World Trade Center Site". Associated Press. April 14, 2006.
  27. ^ Steel-beam cross moved from WTC site from the AP by CNN. Retrieved October 5, 2006.
  28. ^ "World Trade Center Cross Moving to Permanent Home". CBSNewYork/AP. Retrieved August 28, 2011.
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