For two decades, we have vowed never to forget. Beginning this weekend, Fairfield University will host a series of events to remember those lost and honor those affected by the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.
The 20th anniversary of 9/11 is a milestone for the families, friends, and colleagues of the nearly 3,000 loved ones lost on that day. For those in the Fairfield University community old enough to remember — survivors, responders, witnesses, or anyone who followed the news of the terror attacks and offered prayers — it is a day that forever changed us, our nation, and the world.
For those — including most of our current students — who were too young to remember or who were born after 2001, this anniversary serves as both a valuable history lesson and an opportunity to honor the dignity, courage, and strength of the men and women directly affected by the tragedy. For two decades we have vowed never to forget. In keeping with that promise, Fairfield University will commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11 with the following events:
The Egan Chapel of St. Ignatius of Loyola bells will toll this year on Saturday, Sept. 11 in remembrance of Fairfield University’s 14 alumni and all who were lost in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The bells will ring four times to mark the 20th anniversary of the events of that day: 8:46 a.m. (World Trade Center North Tower), 9:03 a.m. (World Trade Center South Tower), 9:37 a.m. (Pentagon), 10:03 a.m. (Shanksville, Pa.).
Candlelight Vigil
At 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 11, a candlelight vigil will take place at the Stag Statue. Hosted by the Fairfield University Student Association, the Wounded Warriors Project, and Campus Ministry, all campus community members are invited to come together to pay tribute to the victims and to reflect on the impact of the terror attacks over the past two decades.
9/11 Memorial Mass
At 11 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 12, the Rev. Gerry Blaszczak, S.J., assistant to the President and alumni chaplain, will celebrate Fairfield University’s annual 9/11 Memorial Mass at 11 a.m. in Egan Chapel. The Memorial Mass will honor all of those lost at the World Trade Center, in Washington D.C., and in Pennsylvania, and commemorate the heroic actions of the rescue and recovery responders at the site of each tragedy, especially James Costello '85, FDNY Battalion Chief, who passed away on November 25, 2015 and whose death was deemed "In the line of duty" from illnesses directly related to toxic exposures at Ground Zero, and the following Fairfield alumni who lost their lives on 9/11/2001:
Jonathan N. Cappello '00
Christopher J. Dunne '95
Steven M. Hagis '91
H. Joseph Heller '86
Michael G. Jacobs '69
Michael P. Lunden '86
Francis N. McGuinn '74
Patrick J. McGuire '82
William E. Micciulli '93
Marc A. Murolo '95
Christopher T. Orgielewicz '87
Johanna L. Sigmund '98
Christopher P. Slattery '92
9/11 Lecture Series
On Thursday, Sept. 23, Fairfield University will host three lectures, each focused on a specific 9/11-related theme:
3 p.m. | Joe McNally: “Faces of Ground Zero: Portraits of the Heroes of September 11, 2001”
Internationally acclaimed, award-winning photographer Joe McNally will present a virtual lecture on his photography series taken at the site of the World Trade Center terror attacks. This virtual lecture is co-sponsored by the Fairfield University Museum (FUAM) and the College of Arts and Sciences. Register to attend at fairfield.edu/museum.
5 p.m. | “Conserving the Artifacts at the 9/11 Museum and Memorial”
In a screening presented at the Kelley Theatre of the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, 9/11 Museum and Memorial Chief Conservator Lisa Conte will focus on several 9/11 artifacts and share the museum’s approaches to their preservation, while telling a people-centric story of 9/11 and its consequences. Co-sponsored by the Fairfield University Art Museum and the College of Arts and Sciences, this presentation is part of the Edwin L. Weisl Jr. Lectureships in Art History, funded by the Robert Lehman Foundation. Register for in-person attendance at fairfield.edu/museum.
7 p.m. | Phil Klay and George Packer: "Life in the Ruins: America at Home and Abroad, 20 Years After 9/11"
The trauma of 9/11 has shaped American life and American policy in profound ways for the past twenty years. No accounting of where we are now — from the fall of Afghanistan to our bitterly divided politics — is complete without reckoning with that legacy. To discuss the impact of 9/11 on the past two decades, George Packer, a National Book Award-winner and one of America’s foremost chroniclers of American life and foreign policy, will join in conversation with fellow National Book Award-winning author Phil Klay, a writing professor in Fairfield's Master of Fine Arts program and a United States Marine Corps veteran.
Packer's writing on U.S. foreign policy has appeared in The Atlantic and The New Yorker. He is the author of several books including The Assassins' Gate: America in Iraq and most recently Last Best Hope: America in Crisis and Renewal.
Register at quickcenter.com.
