The World Trade Center cross, also known as the Ground Zero cross, is a formation of steel beams found among the debris of the

World Trade Center site The World Trade Center site, often referred to as "Ground zero#World Trade Center, Ground Zero" or "the Pile" immediately after the September 11 attacks, is a 14.6-acre (5.9 ha) area in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The site is bounde ...

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, following the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

in 2001. This set of beams is so named because it resembles the proportions of a Christian cross. The beams have been part of an exhibit at the September 11 Museum since 2014.

Context

The

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

was built using

prefabricated Prefabrication is the practice of assembling components of a structure in a factory or other manufacturing site, and transporting complete assemblies or sub-assemblies to the construction site where the structure is to be located. The term is u ...

parts which were bolted or welded together at the site. This process dramatically reduced construction time and costs. Using this process, t-beams and other types of cross beams were created and used in each of the World Trade Center buildings. The

collapse Collapse or its variants may refer to: Concepts * Collapse (structural) * Collapse (topology), a mathematical concept * Collapsing manifold * Collapse, the action of collapsing or telescoping objects * Collapsing user interface elements ** ...

of the Twin Towers sent debris down onto

Six World Trade Center Six World Trade Center was an eight-story building in Lower Manhattan in New York City. It opened in 1974 and was the building in the World Trade Center complex that had the fewest stories. The building served as the U.S. Customs House for Ne ...

, and gutted the interior of that building; the intact cross beam later found in 6 World Trade Center's debris is believed to have come from the North Tower. Following the terrorist attacks, a massive operation was launched to clear the site and attempt to find any survivors amongst the rubble. On September 13, 2001, a worker at the site named Frank Silecchia discovered a cross of two steel beams amongst the debris of 6 World Trade Center. Those with access to the site used the cross as a shrine of sorts, leaving messages on it or praying before it. After a few weeks within the cleanup site the cross was an impediment to nearby work, so Silecchia and others working on the project received an expedited approval from the office of

New York Mayor The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...

to erect it on a pedestal on a portion of the former plaza on Church Street near Liberty. It was moved by crane on October 3 and installed on October 4, where it continued as a shrine and tourist attraction.

Location during construction

The cross remained during reconstruction, but in the 2004 and 2005 filings of its site plan, the

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorized ...

indicated that "additional remnants" of the original World Trade Center might require removal and storage during construction of the

World Trade Center Transportation Hub World Trade Center is a terminal station on the PATH system, within the World Trade Center complex in the Financial District of Manhattan, New York City. It is served by the Newark–World Trade Center line at all times, as well as by the H ...

. Father Brian Jordan OFM, a Roman Catholic

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

priest, has been trying to preserve the cross since April 2006. St. Peter's Church, which faces the World Trade Center site, was proposed as a temporary spot for relocation during construction of the new

PATH A path is a route for physical travel – see Trail. Path or PATH may also refer to: Physical paths of different types * Bicycle path * Bridle path, used by people on horseback * Course (navigation), the intended path of a vehicle * Desire p ...

and office tower at the site. The cross was eventually moved to St. Peter's on October 5, 2006 and sat on the Church Street side of the building, between Barclay and Vesey streets, bearing a plaque which reads "The Cross at Ground Zero – Founded September 13, 2001; Blessed October 4, 2001; Temporarily Relocated October 5, 2006. Will return to WTC Museum, a sign of comfort for all."

Final location

On July 23, 2011, the cross was blessed by Fr. Jordan during a short ceremony before being loaded on a flatbed truck, moved back to Ground Zero and lowered into the

National September 11 Memorial & Museum The National September 11 Memorial & Museum (also known as the 9/11 Memorial & Museum) is a memorial and museum in New York City commemorating the September 11 attacks of 2001, which killed 2,977 people, and the 1993 World Trade Center bombi ...

(due to being a large-scale artifact), before the rest of the museum displays were filled in.

Cultural response

Religious symbolism

Many saw the crossed metal as a Christian cross and felt its survival was symbolic. Fr. Jordan spoke over it and declared it to be a "symbol of hope... symbol of faith... symbol of healing". One minister at the site says that when a family of a man who died in the attacks came to the cross shrine and left personal effects there, "It was as if the cross took in the grief and loss. I never felt Jesus more." In 2013, "U.S. District Judge Deborah Batts concluded...that the 17-foot-high cross, which became a spiritual symbol for workers at ground zero, does not amount to an endorsement of Christianity." Joseph Daniels, the President and CEO of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center Foundation, welcomed the court decision to continue the display of the cross, stating it "is in fact a crucial part of the 9/11 Memorial Museum's mission." Furthermore, Mark Alcott, the lawyer of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center Foundation, which fought the court case against the

American Atheists American Atheists is a non-profit organization in the United States dedicated to defending the civil liberties of atheists and advocating complete separation of church and state. It provides speakers for colleges, universities, clubs, and the ...

, stated that "The museum is gratified by the decision." The potential use of the cross in the

has been controversial. Many groups such as families of certain Christian victims want the cross to be included. Other organizations disagree, notably the

, who filed the lawsuit pertaining to this issue. The

Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...

, a Jewish

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

, issued a statement that it "fully supports the inclusion in the National September 11 Memorial & Museum of the metal beams in the shape of a cross found in the rubble at Ground Zero in the aftermath of the tragic attacks on 9/11." In the court decision in March 2013, Judge

Deborah Batts Deborah Anne Batts (April 13, 1947 – February 3, 2020) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. During Gay Pride Week in June 1994, Batts was sworn in as a United States distr ...

opined that "the First Amendment separates church from state, but not religion from public life" and that "American Atheists advocates an 'absolute separation of church and state,' which would appear to call for a society in which public spaces are entirely religion-free zones. But 'separation' taken this far is no friend of religious liberty." In late July 2014, in dismissing a lawsuit filed by the dissenting atheists who did not want the cross displayed at the memorial, the 2nd U.S. Circuit ruled that, being "a symbol of hope" and "historical in nature", the steel beams "did not intentionally discriminate" against the atheists.

Replicas

A replica has been installed at the gravesite of Father

Mychal Judge Mychal Fallon Judge (born Robert Emmett Judge; May 11, 1933 – September 11, 2001), was an American Franciscan friar and Catholic priest who served as a chaplain to the New York City Fire Department. While serving in that capacity he was ki ...

, a

New York City Fire Department The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), is an American department of the government of New York City that provides fire protection services, technical rescue/special operations services, ...

chaplain and the first public safety casualty of the day, who was killed in the collapse of the World Trade Center. Other surviving crossbeams were salvaged from the rubble; one was given to a

Far Rockaway, Queens Far Rockaway is a neighborhood on the eastern part of the Rockaway peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It is the easternmost section of the Rockaways. The neighborhood extends from Beach 32nd Street east to the Nassau County line ...

, chapter of the

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...

in 2004. Another replica cross was fashioned by ironworkers from Trade Center steel and installed at Graymoor, the

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...

headquarters of the

Society of the Atonement The Society of the Atonement, also known as the Friars and Sisters of the Atonement or Graymoor Friars and Sisters is a Franciscan religious congregation in the Catholic Church. The friars and sisters were founded in 1898 by Paul Wattson as a relig ...

, a

religious institute A religious institute is a type of institute of consecrated life in the Catholic Church whose members take religious vows and lead a life in community with fellow members. Religious institutes are one of the two types of institutes of consecrate ...

friars. The nearby St. Paul's Chapel, which survived the destruction and was a refuge for survivors and site laborers, sells various replicas of the cross including lapel pins and

rosaries The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or b ...

. The cross even inspired laborers on "The Pile" to get tattoos. New York City fire fighters donated a memorial made from a steel cross from the World Trade Center and mounted atop a platform shaped like the Pentagon to the

Shanksville Volunteer Fire Department The Shanksville Volunteer Fire Department is a volunteer fire department in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The department provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the borough (Pennsylvania), boroughs of Sh ...

. Hundreds of firefighters riding motorcycles escorted the beams from New York City to Shanksville. It was installed outside the

firehouse __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equipment, fire h ...

on August 25, 2008.

In popular culture

A documentary film titled ''The Cross and the Towers'', which was released in 2006, tells the story of the 9/11 World Trade Center Cross. It has won a "number of awards, including the Audience Choice Award at Palm Beach International Festival, Best Film at Gloria Film Festival, Crystal Heart at Heartland Film Festival and finalist in the USA FilmFestival.

References

External links

September 11 Memorial Tattoo with Image of World Trade Center Cross''The Cross and The Towers'' documentary film on the 9/11 WTC Cross
{{DEFAULTSORT:World Trade Center Cross Aftermath of the September 11 attacks Memorials for the September 11 attacks Monumental crosses in the United States Religious objects

Cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...