Parish History
ST. AUGUSTINE'S REMEMBERS SEPTEMBER 11
By William C. McGuire, II
September 11, 2002 was from early morning on, a very blustery day, and pictures of those gathered for the memorial at Ground Zero in Manhattan showed the circle of mourners enveloped in high rising swirls of yellow dust. But above these and the bag pipes' keening, the air was clear and the sky a hard bright blue. No less so in Larchmont, where a 6:45 A.M. mass at St. Augustine's was dedicated to the memory of John T. McErlean, Jr., one of eight WTC deceased connected to our village. The service was part of a long and varied day of community-wide prayer and remembrance for all who were lost on that clear September day a year ago.
At 8:30, a small crowd of residents gathered with Larchmont employees across the street from the church at the village flag pole by the Village Center to attend a public memorial. This brief but dignified ceremony included elected officials, a police/fire department color guard, volleys of rifle fire, taps and the lowering of the flag to half mast. A moment of silence was observed to mark both the precise times when airliners struck the twin towers. The latter silence concluded the ceremony, and some of the attendees then joined the other worshipers for 9:00 mass at St. Augustine's.
Father Antony Gatt celebrated that mass, his homily remarks including portions of a letter he had been asked to write to a newspaper near his former parish in England. It was a kind of moving progress report on how New York and America were faring a year after the attack. His words followed up on a similar article he had written for the paper a year ago.
The church was packed for the 7:30 P.M. service, concelebrated by Father Gatt, Father Joseph DeSanto and our pastor, Monsignor Walter F. Kenny. In his own homily remarks Monsignor asked all to pray to God to comfort those who had experienced the sudden but lingering pain of loss of a loved one. He spoke too of our need to reach out to not only friends but all our neighbors, even those who may seem different from us, or may even seem to represent a threat to us.
At the conclusion of the mass, a procession led to the center vestibule of the church where the Monsignor blessed a newly installed bronze wall plaque in memory of our World Trade Center dead. Earlier, Monsignor had explained that the plaque was made possible through the action of Tom Curnin and the Parish Council.
The plaque reads simply: In Memoriam – September 11, 2001 – Maurice Kelly – Helen Crossin Kittle – Patricia Helen Kittle (Unborn Daughter) – Edward H. Luckett II – John T. McErlean, Jr. – Chris T, Orgielewicz – John A. Reo – John F. Swaine, Dedicated – September 11, 2002.
On behalf of the families and friends of those above, the parish wishes to thank all those who have extended themselves and continue to, in order to provide help and comfort to the survivors.
Editor's Note:
Tom Curnin was also responsible for the installation in the
front of the Church of the memorial plaque for the Korean and Vietnam wars.
