GLMX #195: The Cross of 9/11's Ground Zero

On a fateful day over a decade ago, two commercial airline flights were hijacked by terrorists and flown into the World Trade Center towers in New York City. Two days after the buildings fell on 9/11, as the dust and ash cleared and as torn and mangled bodies were pulled from the rubble, a worker at the site named Frank Silecchia discovered a peculiar object amidst the ruins. 

The object was a 17-foot cross formed from two steel beams used in the construction of the World Trade Center. This cross became a symbol of hope in the days and weeks following the devastation of 9/11. It was one of the few parts of the towers that had not crumbled to bits or been incinerated and turned to ash as a result of the fiery explosions that accompanied the attacks.

As the cleanup effort continued around Ground Zero, this cross was placed on a pedestal on a plaza near the site of the attacks. Many people felt that its survival was providential, and it became a place where people prayed and left notes and messages of hope. 

The Ground Zero Cross became the subject of much debate when plans for a September 11 Memorial Museum were put in motion. Several groups did not want the Christian symbol of the cross included in the memorial. However, in March 2013, a U.S. Court ruled that the Ground Zero Cross could be displayed as a part of the memorial. This week, the September 11 Memorial Museum opened in New York City, and the Ground Zero Cross is at the center of an underground gallery along with other monumental artifacts that survived the attacks. 

Why is the symbol of the cross so powerful? 

MUSICAL SELECTION: "Lead Me to the Cross" by Francesca Battistelli