Pope Benedict XVI's visit to "Ground Zero" (World Trade Center)

What's Happening Today: Sunday, April 20
9:30 a.m. - Visit to Ground Zero - Site of the Former World Trade Center
NOTE: This post will be updated as more information becomes available on this topic.

(World Trade Center Service) |(Ground Zero Participants) - Via USCCB (PDF format).

The Pope will visit the site of the September 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center, offer a blessing and greet representatives of the Port Authority, New York fire and police workers, those who survived the attacks, and family members who lost loved ones in the attack.

• 9:30 a.m. - The Pope arrives via motorcade. A welcome by Cardinal Edward M. Egan.

Program

• The motorcade travels down the ramp. The Pope and Cardinal Edward M. Egan leave the limousine and walk the remaining route alone
• The Pope kneels before a pool of water and candle, offering a silent prayer
• The Pope lights the candle, offers a prayer and blesses the ground and the guests with holy water
• Guests approach the Pope individually for a brief exchange

Here is the text of Pope Benedict XVI's prayer at Ground Zero:

O God of love, compassion, and healing,
look on us, people of many different faiths and traditions,
who gather today at this site,
the scene of incredible violence and pain.

We ask you in your goodness
to give eternal light and peace
to all who died here—
the heroic first-responders:
our fire fighters, police officers,
emergency service workers, and Port Authority personnel,
along with all the innocent men and women
who were victims of this tragedy
simply because their work or service
brought them here on September 11, 2001.

We ask you, in your compassion
to bring healing to those
who, because of their presence here that day,
suffer from injuries and illness.
Heal, too, the pain of still-grieving families
and all who lost loved ones in this tragedy.
Give them strength to continue their lives
with courage and hope.

We are mindful as well
of those who suffered death, injury, and loss
on the same day at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Our hearts are one with theirs
as our prayer embraces their pain and suffering.

God of peace, bring your peace to our violent world:
peace in the hearts of all men and women
and peace among the nations of the earth.
Turn to your way of love
those whose hearts and minds
are consumed with hatred.

God of understanding,
overwhelmed by the magnitude of this tragedy,
we seek your light and guidance
as we confront such terrible events.
Grant that those whose lives were spared
may live so that the lives lost here
may not have been lost in vain.
Comfort and console us,
strengthen us in hope,
and give us the wisdom and courage
to work tirelessly for a world
where true peace and love reign
among nations and in the hearts of all.

Sewell Chan reports from New York Times' "City Room":

Pope Benedict XVI knelt and prayed at ground zero in Lower Manhattan this morning, blessing the site where more than 2,600 people were killed in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center more than six years ago. The pontiff offered a prayer to God for peace, mentioning the attacks on 9/11 on the Pentagon in Washington and on a jetliner that crashed near Shanksville, Pa. He made only one, indirect, reference to terror: “Turn to your way of love those whose hearts and minds are consumed with hatred.” The pope made no other public remarks during his half-hour visit to the site, but offered private words of comfort to survivors who were injured and relatives of victims who were killed in the attacks.

Gov. David A. Paterson and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York were already at ground zero when the pope arrived at 9:31 a.m., as was Gov. Jon S. Corzine of New Jersey.

The visit has particular significance for survivors of 9/11, and relatives of victims who died in the World Trade Center, many of them from Roman Catholic backgrounds. The Rev. Mychal F. Judge, a beloved Catholic chaplain for the Fire Department who died from falling debris on 9/11 and was listed as victim No. 1 by the city chief medical examiner’s office, has become a larger-than-life figure for some.

Pope John Paul II, Benedict’s predecessor, condemned the 9/11 attacks as an “unspeakable horror” on the day they occurred.

[...]

The service was held at the bottom of the giant construction ramp that goes into the construction site for the new towers rising at ground zero. (Construction has been suspended for the papal visit.)

At 9:43 a.m., the pope knelt on a prie-dieu before a pool of water and a candle, praying silently for about two minutes. Then, with assistance from two clerical aides, he lighted a candle — apparently with a little bit of difficulty at first, perhaps because of technical problems.

[...]

Following [his] prayer, the pope used an aspergillum to sprinkle holy water in four directions, blessing the site. Then guests approached the pope individually for brief private exchanges; many of them knelt briefly before the pontiff and kissed his ring. One representative each from the families of 16 people who died in the World Trade Center attack were selected — from among more than 1,100 applicants — for a chance to be present and meet him.

Lombardi: Benedict's visit to Ground Zero among the most anticipated moments of his U.S. visit

Benedict XVI's time of prayer at Ground Zero will be among "the most emotional and eagerly awaited moments" of his upcoming trip to the United States, says Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office. The event is expected to last 30 minutes and will be televised internationally. Zenit News Service reports:

International interest has affected scheduling for the visit, Father Lombardi explained, saying that the stop at Ground Zero will take place Sunday morning, April 20, "since in that way, Europe can also follow along, due to the interest this has stirred up."

The Pope will be accompanied at Ground Zero by Cardinal Edward Egan of New York. Plans call for him to kneel for a few moments of private, silent prayer. He will then be escorted by the cardinal to a pool of water and exposed earth in the center of the carpet, where he will light a candle, offer a prayer, and sprinkle the ground with holy water. The Holy Father will then offer a blessing to the invited guests.

"The Pope will not give an address," Father Lombardi affirmed. "It is an event of prayer, recollection and respect for the drama, the tragedy that happened in this place.

"The Pope will not multiply words. He goes and he prays."

Afterward, Benedict XVI will salute the mayor of the city and other local authorities, as well as 24 people who represent five categories of those affected by the 9/11 attacks: survivors, family of the victims, and representatives of the police, firemen and civil security.

Seeking the Pope's blessing on a golf cart

According to the Florida Villages' Daily Sun, the father of a 9/11 firefighter hopes to have his golf cart blessed by the Holy Father:

When Pope Benedict XVI visits the World Trade Center site April 20, Villager Bob Ogren hopes to be there with a golf cart he has made honoring the 343 firefighters who died Sept. 11, 2001, including his son, Jay.

“The idea is to bring the cart up there and maybe have it blessed,” Ogren said.

The golf cart, designed to look like a firetruck, has a picture of each firefighter killed on Sept. 11, many of whom Ogren knew, as he is a retired New York firefighter himself.

However, the number of family members of victims being invited for the pope’s visit is very limited and will be chosen by lottery.

So Ogren is reaching out to everybody he knows, asking them to submit his name for the lottery, but he also thinks he has a little extra help on his side.

“I said that even though it was dismal, I said that I’ve got 343 guys that are talking to the boss up there,” said the Village of Liberty Park resident.

Related

• Villager’s fire engine golf cart pays tribute to his son, by Katie Evans. The Villages Daily Sun September 17, 2007.

Cardinal Egan on Benedict's address to UN, visit to Ground Zero

This past week, New York 1's Roma Torre interviewed Cardinal Edward Egan on the Pope's impending visit, where he spoke of the Holy Father's intentions for speaking to the UN and his request to visit to the site of the former World Trade Center:

The pope's trip to New York was prompted by an invitation from United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. Benedict will arrive in New York on April 18 to address the U.N., where he is expected to discuss among other things, the War in Iraq.

"And if that's the Holy Father's intention, which I suspect it is, to speak in favor of peace, then I would have to say it is worth the trip," said Egan.

On the morning of April 20th, the pope, by his own request, will make a visit to the World Trade Center Site.

"I was delighted, but a little taken back," said Egan. "I didn't think that he would do that, but this is not my idea, nor is it my good friend Mayor Michael Bloomberg's idea. This was his request."

The Holy Father will descend the ramp to a shallow pool of water, where there will be a candle. He will be greeted by both the governor of New York and New Jersey, along with Bloomberg, firefighters, police officers and emergency workers.

"We will have representatives of families who have lost loved ones and we will also have representatives of people who were injured as a result," he said. "They will be waiting for him down in Ground Zero when he comes down this ramp."

Rudy Giuliani to receive private audience with the Pope?

Katie Thomas (Newsday asks): "Given the Rudy-friendly itinerary, is there a chance the pontiff will grant an audience to Giuliani -- a lifelong Yankees fan known worldwide for his handling of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks?" -- papal pundits are divided on the question:

"I'm sure the pope would be happy to grant Giuliani an audience," said David Gibson, author of "The Rule of Benedict," a biography of Pope Benedict XVI. "If there was something at Ground Zero, I would be surprised if Giuliani were not there."

But Thomas Reese, a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University, said he doubted the pope would grant a tete-a-tete with the former mayor. Although Giuliani may appear at an event with other officials, "The pope normally deals with current government leaders -- not past leaders," Reese said.

If Giuliani is still a presidential candidate come April -- the Republican nominee should be chosen by then -- a papal meeting would lend a bit of gravitas to his bid. Still, if Hizzoner engineers an audience with His Holiness, the visit could backfire. After all, Giuliani is a candidate for the presidency -- not the priesthood. Although he attended Catholic schools all his life, he's on his third marriage, has an estranged relationship with his children and holds liberal views on abortion and gay rights. Such a public meeting might remind voters of his less-than-saintly past.

"He's walking a tightrope," Gibson said of Giuliani. "If he appears to look like an altar boy, it's not going to play very well."

Pope Will Visit Ground Zero, Manhattan

Pope to visit Ground Zero in New York, by Martin Barillas. Spero News. November 13, 2007:

Archbishop Pietro Sambi - the Holy See's ambassador to the United States - announced that Pope Benedict XVI will visit Ground Zero in New York City on April 20, 2008, the site where thousands died in the World Trade Center in 2001. In the place where the Twin Towers once stood, Archbishop Sambi said that the pope "will show his solidarity with those who have died, their families and all those who seek peace and wish an end to violence." Archbishop Sambi expressed his hope that the pope's visit will bring "a new light, a new Pentecost to the Church in the United States". This stop on his five-day tour of the United States will be followed by an outdoor Mass at Yankee Stadium.