Diocese of Greensburg marks 9/11 anniversary with Mass, online video series

Jeff Himler, Tribune-Review, Greensburg, Pa.
·3 min read

Sep. 3—The Diocese of Greensburg plans to mark the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks with a remembrance Mass and an online video series.

Bishop Larry J. Kulick will host the Mass at 4:30 p.m. Sept. 11 at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral in Greensburg. The public is invited to attend. The Mass also will be live streamed on the diocese's website, dioceseofgreensburg.org, and its Facebook page and YouTube channel.

"We Remember," a week-long video remembrance series, also may be viewed at the diocese's online sites.

The series will begin on Sept. 12, with a mini-documentary that will be filmed during Kulick's planned morning visit to the Westmoreland County 911 center on Sept. 10. Kulick will speak with leaders at the center about the calls that came in on Sept. 11, 2001, as terrorists hijacked a plane that crashed in Shanksville, Somerset County.

Kulick also will visit the Fayette County 911 center, where he'll lead a prayer service and talk with dispatchers who were on duty during 9/11. That visit will be recapped in a Sept. 16 entry in the diocese video series.

Additional videos in the series will be released according to the following schedule:

—Sept. 13 — Jerry Zufelt, retired editor of The Catholic Accent, will share observations about 9/11 events, how they were covered and how people in the region turned to their church to help deal with difficult emotions;

—Sept. 14 — Judy Colfer, a Greensburg-area Catholic who was in New York City for a professional conference on 9/11 will recount her harrowing escape from the World Trade Center's North Tower minutes before it collapsed;

—Sept. 15 — Melissa Brown, a former feature writer for The Catholic Accent, will describe her day at the crash site in Shanksville, where she interviewed people who saw United Airlines Flight 93 immediately before it went down;

—Sept. 17 — Donna Rethi, a former production coordinator for the Indiana Gazette, will talk about her 9/11 newsroom memories and and how she learned the next day that a cousin and his wife were flight attendants on the hijacked plane that struck the Pentagon.

"It is important to tell those stories for the young people who don't recall that day and to help them understand what an import role faith played in the nation's recovery from these horrific acts," said Jen Miele, the diocese's chief communications officer, who will conduct several interviews for the video series. "This will also remind people of the heroism of the passengers on Flight 93 and of the courage of the many first responders here, in New York City and in Washington, D.C., who risked their lives and in many cases gave their lives for others."

The "We Remember" videos will be produced by The Catholic Accent staff and will include photos taken at Shanksville by one of the publication's former photographers, Ed Zelachoski.

Jeff Himler is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jeff at 724-836-6622, jhimler@triblive.com or via Twitter .