A stunningly simple yet very thought-provoking 9/11 memorial

 

A stunningly simple yet very thought-provoking 9/11 memorial at the Conventual Franciscan Friary of St. Joseph Cupertino in Howard County, Maryland.

On the friary grounds (on the wooded “Alverna Trail” maintained by the staff and volunteers of the Shrine of St. Anthony), is a stunningly simple yet very thought-provoking memorial to those lost in the United States on 09/11/01.  A statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus stands at the entrance to the trail.

The memorial site, located about 100 feet into woods, includes a steel relic of the NY World Trade Center, a gift to the Franciscan Friars Conventual of the Our Lady of the Angels Province by the the Little Sisters of the Poor of Latham, New York.  

The peace and simplicity and the wooded setting of this prayer-inspiring memorial, so very far from city noises and busy streets, seems quite contrary to the violence and horror of that dreadful day.  This site is simply stunning to behold, and it gives those who visit a comforting and very peaceful place to pray and to reflect as they recall 9/11. 

A nearby marker reads: “Cross made from the rubble of the World Trade Center, New York City.”

Another marker reads: “In remembrance of the lives lost and the lives forever changed by the events of September 11, 2001.”  and . . . 

“At the Cross her station keeping — Our Lady of Sorrows — Pray for us”

“Patron of the Lost — St. Anthony of Padua — Pray for us.”  

**The Alverna Trail is located in an area behind the friary that once was a tree shaded grove, and the picnic site of the Annual St. Anthony Pilgrimage, a friary fund-raiser that was held for many years until the last such “pilgrimage” in the summer of 1986.

For more information about the Shrine of Saint Anthony see https://www.shrineofstanthony.org/

For more information about the Conventual Franciscan Friars, Our Lady of the Angels Province see https://www.olaprovince.org/