Steel Cross Moved from Ground Zero to Church

by Kevin Donovan

Posted: Friday, October 6, 2006, 8:29 (BST)

A cross-shaped steel beam that survived the 2001 World Trade Centre terrorist attack in New York was moved Thursday from Ground Zero to a nearby church, accompanied by victims' families, clergy and construction workers.

A cross-shaped steel beam that survived the 2001 World Trade Centre terrorist attack in New York was moved Thursday from Ground Zero to a nearby church, accompanied by victims' families, clergy and construction workers.

The cross has become a symbol of hope to thousands around the world following the attacks.

The 2-ton, 20-foot-high cross was placed on a flatbed truck for the three-block trip to St. Peter's Church, which served as a temporary morgue for Sept. 11 victims and as a sanctuary for rescue workers searching for human remains.

Construction worker Frank Silecchia found the artefact days after the 2001 attacks. He showed it to a minister, the Rev. Brian Jordan, and asked him what he saw.

"I said, `Frank, I believe that is a cross'," said Jordan, who dedicated the artefact at the site a month later. "We are all anxious for some type of God's presence."

Jordan led the procession, calling the cross "a sign of consolation and inspiration to workers who served at Ground Zero for the 10 months of recovery."

Land where the cross stood is being excavated for office towers and a Sept. 11 museum.

"This piece of steel meant more to many people than any piece of steel ever," said Richard Sheirer, head of the city Office of Emergency Management in 2001.

The World Trade Center Memorial Foundation has promised to eventually provide a permanent home for the cross, most likely at the World Trade Center Memorial Museum, which is to open in 2009.

Found this article particularly meaningful. The serendipitous find of the steel beam has brought comfort and santity to those who steel dwell upon Ground Zero.

"But its just a steel beam."..."You may think its a cross, but its just rubbish which you symbolise as something significant."

These could have been some thoughts that arose from the erection of this monument in the first place. And certainly they are valid for doubters of the Christian faith.

However, what should be looked at is the intensity of how a mere beam (rightly said), could be symbolically transformed into a rallying point for those who still grieve over lost loved ones. Other questions may arise saying, "Why didn't they find a steel crescent and star? Or a Star of David?...A Cross...that's so easy to find and make. They're everywhere".

But isn't that precisely the point? That they ARE everywhere. And yet, we don't acknowledge their presence until something severe like 9/11 happens. And we return yet again to the meaning found in religion, that we as little children used to find in Sunday school stories of Abraham and Jacob.