by Ian Gualtiere ’27 on September 17, 2026
News
Last Friday was the 25 th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, a series of coordinated suicide attacks by the terrorist organization al-Qaeda that used four commercial passenger planes to crash into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and an unplanned hit on a field in rural Pennsylvania. The attacks left a total of 2,977 dead.
In New York City, the World Trade Center site was cleared by May 2002. Development efforts by the city resulted in the creation of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, which features twin reflecting pools set in the foundational footprints of the original Twin Towers, with a perimeter of inscriptions honoring the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks and the 1993 car bombing. The memorial ceremony early Friday morning featured a coordinated effort by the city, where relatives of the victims recited their names, and six
bells were struck to mark moments of silence signifying when the planes hit the towers, when the towers fell, and when the crashes occurred in Virginia and Pennsylvania. A seventh bell was recently added for the 25 th anniversary commemoration, which honors the first responders, recovery workers, and survivors who died from illnesses caused by dust, smoke, and asbestos at Ground Zero after the attacks. More than 9,400 people have died from these 9/11-related illnesses. This seventh bell arrives in the wake of controversy, as New York City released previously undisclosed records early last week about the air quality in Lower Manhattan after the attacks showing that many city officials knew that the conditions were unsafe.
This New York City ceremony was attended by all four living former United States presidents (George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden), former first ladies Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama, Vice President JD Vance, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Senator Chuck Schumer, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and former NYC Mayors Michael Bloomberg and Rudy Giuliani.
At the Pentagon, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania attended the reading of the names of the 184 victims who died there on Sept. 11. A bell was struck for every name, followed by a moment of silence. President Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth followed the service by giving speeches; both took time to reflect on the attacks and victims while also tying in the ongoing seven-month war in Iran. In a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, two ceremonies were held at the Flight 93 Memorial. These were to observe the fourth flight that crashed into the field when the crew and passengers on the flight fought back against the hijackers before the plane could reach its intended target. Forty passengers and crew members were killed. The first observance ceremony was held at 8:30 a.m. at the Wall of Names, where officials read aloud the names of all 40 victims; a moment of silence was observed, and
bells of remembrance were rung. A second ceremony later in the afternoon, with a much larger crowd, was headlined by a keynote speech by Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.
At Providence College, several observances were held on Friday, including the placement of 1,000 American flags on the lawn in front of Ryan Center by the PC Republicans. Attention was also drawn to the names of the eight members of the PC community who lost their lives on 9/11; a plaque can be found at the War Memorial Grotto in front of Saint Dominic Chapel. Rev. James F. Quigley, O.P. ’60 wrote a piece that can be found on the Providence College Alumni website. He was serving at the Catholic Center at New York University 25 years ago when the attacks occurred. In this essay, he shares his experiences and thoughts on ministering in New York City in the days following the attacks while also drawing on questions of evil, human suffering, and faith.