At the World Trade Center (WTC) site in Lower Manhattan, 2,753 people were killed when hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 were intentionally crashed into the North and South Towers, or as a result of the crashes.
Of those who perished during the initial attacks and the subsequent collapses of the towers, 343 were New York City firefighters, 23 were New York City police officers and 37 were officers at the Port Authority. The victims ranged in age from two to 85 years. Approximately 75-80% of the victims were men. At the Pentagon in Washington, 184 people were killed when hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the building. Near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, 40 passengers and crew members aboard United Airlines Flight 93 died when the plane crashed into a field. It is believed that the hijackers crashed the plane in that location, rather than their unknown target, after the passengers and crew attempted to retake control of the flight deck. As of October 2019, 1,645 (60%) of 2,753 WTC victims’ remains have been positively identified, according to the medical examiner’s office.
Anniversary Prayer for 9/11
Holy God,
Creator of all people and all nations,
It is with sorrow and apprehension we remember the tragic events
That occurred on this day.
We lift to You in prayer all those who died
In the Twin Towers, at the Pentagon, and on United Airlines Flight 93
In Shankesville, Pennsylvania.
We entrust them to Your loving care.
Console their families, friends, and all who mourn this loss
In the hope that all who trust in You find peace and rest in Your Kingdom.
We pray for those who courageously responded to provide aid and comfort to the afflicted.
May their painful memories of that day
Be healed and transformed into strength and positive resolution.
We also pray for ourselves as we seek Your strength and guidance.
We live in the aftermath of this tragedy and under the shadow of future acts of aggression;
We stand in need of Your assistance.
Enable us, Dear God, to put an end to fear:
By resolving to live lives that are based on respect for one another;
By resolving to abide in a peaceful manner
and never settle disagreements in our lives in a violent way;
By resolving not to fall into the trap of blaming entire ethnic groups, races, or religions
in response to acts of hostility;
By resolving that justice, not revenge, prevail in our world.
Let us resolve that in the face of hatred, we will show love;
That in times of despair, we will be voices of hope
And creators of new dreams;
That in times of darkness, we will be sources of light.
Let us resolve that we never regard forgiveness as weakness,
But rather as a source of strength in our lives and in our world.
And, let us honor the memory of nearly 3,000 individuals who died on September 11, 2001
By resolving, with Your help Almighty God,
To truly live this way so You may be glorified and Your love made known to others through us.
Amen.
– Bro. Darrell Burns, S.J.
9/11 Timeline
8:46 am – First plane hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center
9:03 am – Second plane hit the South Tower of the World Trade Center
9:37 am – Plane hit the Pentagon
9:59 am – South Tower Collapses
10:07 am – Flight 93 crashes in Pennsylvania
10:28 am – North Tower Collapses
Friday, September 10 Memorial Service
Register Now
Fairfield University Lecture Series
On Thursday, September 23, Fairfield University will host three lectures, each focused on a specific 9/11-related theme.
Register Here
3 p.m. | Joe McNally: “Faces of Ground Zero: Portraits of the Heroes of September 11, 2001”
Internationally acclaimed, award-winning photographer Joe McNally will present a virtual lecture on his photography series taken at the site of the World Trade Center terror attacks. This virtual lecture is co-sponsored by the Fairfield University Museum (FUAM) and the College of Arts and Sciences. Register to attend at fairfield.edu/museum.
5 p.m. | “Conserving the Artifacts at the 9/11 Museum and Memorial”
In a screening presented at the Kelley Theatre of the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, 9/11 Museum and Memorial Chief Conservator Lisa Conte will focus on several 9/11 artifacts and share the museum’s approaches to their preservation while telling a people-centric story of 9/11 and its consequences. Co-sponsored by the Fairfield University Art Museum and the College of Arts and Sciences, this presentation is part of the Edwin L. Weisl Jr. Lectureships in Art History, funded by the Robert Lehman Foundation. Register for in-person attendance at fairfield.edu/museum.
7 p.m. | Phil Klay and George Packer: “Life in the Ruins: America at Home and Abroad, 20 Years After 9/11”
The trauma of 9/11 has shaped American life and American policy in profound ways for the past twenty years. No accounting of where we are now — from the fall of Afghanistan to our bitterly divided politics — is complete without reckoning with that legacy. To discuss the impact of 9/11 on the past two decades, George Packer, a National Book Award-winner and one of America’s foremost chroniclers of American life and foreign policy, will join in conversation with fellow National Book Award-winning author Phil Klay, a writing professor in Fairfield’s Master of Fine Arts program and a United States Marine Corps veteran.
Packer’s writing on U.S. foreign policy has appeared in The Atlantic and The New Yorker. He is the author of several books including The Assassins’ Gate: America in Iraq and most recently Last Best Hope: America in Crisis and Renewal.