Priest’s book traces path of 9/11 artifact
FATHER BRIAN JORDAN, holy water in one pocket and brass knuckles in the other, marched downtown toward the burning remains of the World Trade Center.
The Franciscan priest made a single concession to the unfathomable circumstances of Sept. 11, 2001: He swapped his order’s sandals for a pair of sneakers.
So began Jordan’s unlikely ministry and lengthy odyssey. For the next 13 years, he served as the foremost activist, lobbyist and defender of the Ground Zero Cross. His tale, from the unlikely discovery of the 17-foot steel column to its installation in the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, unspools in his new book “The Ground Zero Cross.”
Jordan, standing outside the museum on a rainy Friday morning, reflected on the rusted relic’s importance.
“It was a sign that God did not abandon us on Sept. 11,” said the 62-year-old priest. “This was no mere accident that this crossbeam fell the way it did. And second, it is a historical artifact.”
Jordan first battled to keep the cross on site before fighting in favor of a nearby church hosting the symbolic steel — and finally waged a legal war with the American Atheists over its inclusion in the museum.
The veteran priest first laid eyes on the cross on Sept. 23, 2001, after celebrating Sunday Mass for the Ground Zero workers.
Once the service ended, construction worker Frank Silecchia approached the priest with a question: “Do you want to see God’s house?”
Silecchia, who would pull 47 bodies from the rubble, led a curious Jordan through the ruins of 6 World Trade Center.
When they reached a certain point, Jordan peered across the killing field and saw a sign of hope: A T-shaped cross of two girders, clearly visible amidst the carnage. Insulation hung down from the cross-beam, invoking the Shroud of Turin for Jordan.
The priest stared silently at the interlocked steel, unable to speak.
“I was so overcome with emotion, with shock, surprise and sheer joy,” he recalled. “I immediately knelt down and thanked almighty God.
“Two minutes later, two firefighters entered. We did not say a word. We acknowledged with our eye contact that this was a sign from God.”
They were not alone in that thought. For many, the symbol of Jesus Christ’s death brought faith to a godless area defined by smoldering wreckage, human remains and toxic fumes.
The cross — rather than heading to the forensic debris site on Staten Island — relocated to the corner of West and Vesey streets. At its Oct. 4, 2001, dedication, Jordan blessed all four of its sides with his holy water.
The cross was moved to another area as work continued at Ground Zero, where it stayed until 2006 amid rumors it was headed for a Kennedy Airport storage facility.
A deal was cut to move the cross to St. Peter’s Church just opposite Ground Zero. The body of FDNY Chaplain Mychal Judge, a friend and fellow Franciscan of Jordan, was brought there on 9/11. There the cross stayed until July 23, 2011.
In Jordan’s view, the cross should have remained at the church, on public display to inspired thousands and thousands of daily passersby.
Instead, it was installed as part of an exhibit when the museum opened in May 2014.
“I’m at peace with now with the cross being here,” said Jordan, “I’ve grown to accept it. I have reconciled all my differences of the past.”
The cross now rises from the floor of the 9/11 museum, just a short walk from the spot where Jordan first laid eyes on the unlikely icon.
Nearby hangs a spray-painted sign rescued from the ruins as well: “Catholic Mass Every Sunday 10:30 a.m. Under the Cross.”
When Jordan returns to Ground Zero these days, he doesn’t see the new skyscrapers or the memorial reflecting pools.
“When I look out, I see 2001,” said Jordan. “All I see is Sept. 11, 2001, through June 2002. And that’s all I will see down here for the rest of my life.”