Immaculate Conception High School Remembers 9/11 by Offering Prayers, Words of Hope

Students at Immaculate Conception High School took time out of their regular school day Friday to gather in the sanctuary to pray and remember the day terrorist attacks changed the course of history.

Father Scott McCawley, addressing the students, conjured the decade-old but still-fresh images of Sept. 11, 2001, as he offered words of hope. 

"We remember the terrifying images of the planes and the towers, images of the faces of the survivors, and those looking for their loved ones, images of the firemen and emergency workers who tirelessly searched the rubble," he said. "We remember the terror, the fear, the courage, the compassion."

Students participated in the service with readings, prayers and music. At the conclusion, the students rose in complete silence and returned to their classrooms.

Jane Connors, who teaches freshman theology, says it is important to remember that these high schoolers were young children when the events took place.

"The students who I teach were in preschool during 2001," she said. "I remember the quiet, the eerie silence, and the unsettledness about us. These young people, certainly they can read about it and we can tell them about it. They didn't come home that day to be glued to the television. I'm sure parents sheltered them from the TV images. They were so little."

Remembering Sept. 11 is important, but Connors said she can't help but think of the families who lost loved ones that day.

"We have to pray for those who sacrificed their lives and died. But the husbands and wives who are single parents now—is this a good day for them? Are they happy we’re remembering it? Does it bring to them another sadness? We need to pray for them. Indeed, we need to remember it and honor the sacrifice of their husbands or wives."

"We can not forget," Connors said. "We can not."