Scottish Catholic Observer

THE POPE’S opening of a fourth path to sainthood has raised hopes that Fr Mychal Judge could be place on the road to being canonised.

The Francisan—the first known casualty of the 9/11 terror attacks—is revered by many. In September 2016, I participated in the annual Father Mychal Judge Walk of Remembrance that takes place in New York on the Sunday before the 9/11 anniversary.

The Walk is in honour of Fr Judge, who was the chaplain of the Fire Department of New York. He died in the South Tower when the North Tower fell during the catastrophe. The walk follows the route that Fr Judge took that day from his church—St Francis of Assisi—to the World Trade Center and concludes at St Peter’s Church as this is where Fr Judge’s body was laid on the altar.

There is an iconic image from that day of a lifeless Fr Judge being carried by five men in a chair from the towers.

I first heard about the priest from reading about his story a few years after 9/11. I was incredibly struck by his story, by how Fr Judge put everyone before himself

I joined a Facebook group in his memory and learned how he helped street people—the homeless—AIDS victims, people with psychological issues, firefighters and their families, and the people of his church—and there were many, many more.

One particular story I find humbling is that Fr Judge met a friend on a very cold evening, with heavy snow falling, while he only wore his robes and sandals. His friend gave him a jacket to keep and to stay warm.

In the following days, Fr Judge spoke to his friend and when asked did the jacket keep him warm, Fr Judge had to confess that he no longer had the jacket as he gave it to a street person on his way home from meeting his friend.

Fr Judge was also a friend of detective Steven McDonald of the New York City Police Department. Mr McDonald was shot three times in Central Park, New York, by a 14-year-old boy.

Because of his injuries, Mr McDonald was quadriplegic and a ventilator breathed for him but he could speak and move his head. The police detective forgave the boy that shot him and wanted to take the ­message of forgiveness around the world. He did this with Fr Judge.

The two men were very close friends, with Mr McDonald identifying Fr Judge’s body. In 2002, the first walk in the priest’s honour took place, founded by Mr McDonald.

In January of this year, at the age of 59, Mr McDonald passed away with thousands attending his funeral and lining the streets of New York.

I met Mr McDonald at the walk last year and after I returned home, we kept up written correspondence.

Of course, someone wrote the letter for Mr McDonald, but he signed it himself using a pen he held in his mouth.

Through the Facebook group I became more and more involved in the cause of a man I think was a saint.

This culminated in me going over for the walk of remembrance last year.

The walk this year is being organised by the small, dedicated group of people that had helped Mr McDonald with the previous 15 walks and I have volunteered to help in any which way I can to ensure that Fr Judge and 9/11 are never forgotten.

People are still dying from 9/11 related illnesses each year and more than a thousand people have yet to be identified. The process of trying to identify remains still takes place today. For them and in Fr Judge’s memory, I will be returning to New York for the 2017 Walk.

• Claire Ward is a school support assistant from Edinburgh.
• www.911walkofremembrance.com
• www.fb.com/911Walk