09/02/2026
"I remember waking up that Tuesday morning and hearing on the radio in Farley Hall’s third-floor bathroom that the South Shore Rail Line had canceled all trains for the day. 'That's odd,' I thought, but I barely took a beat and continued to prepare for my very normal walk to class at DeBartolo Hall. As I arrived at the building, I'd learned all classes had been canceled because a plane flew into a building in New York City, and we didn’t know why it happened. As I returned to Farley with a head swirling with bits of facts that didn't fit my reality, I learned of the second plane and saw the footage for the first time on a friend's TV. I felt so confused because this was just so far outside our reality of what could happen in 2001. I started to deeply worry about my relatives serving in the armed forces, and it was hard to get through to anyone on the East Coast.
Fellow Farley residents gathered in our common room, watching the 2nd tower fall, absolutely horrified. I did not know what this meant, what was to come, but I knew I wanted to pray. Unable to find a rosary, I walked over to the bookstore to purchase a new one (that I still have today), as it was something to do, something with purpose: I *could* walk to the bookstore; I *could* buy a rosary; I *could* pray.
The University's decision to celebrate Mass on South Quad was both a familiar and extraordinary way to bring us together as a community. Friends and I found each other on the grass, sharing hugs and tears, asking about family, and reassuring each other that we would be OK, even though we didn't know if that was true. Our faith in God and hope in the resurrection allowed us to bring all the fears, uncertainties, and other trying emotions to the feet of Christ through the Mass. On one hand, it didn’t feel like much, but on the other, it reminded us that no matter what happened, we had our faith and we had each other."
- Cecilia Zappa Harry ‘04
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We're sharing remembrances we've collected from individuals impacted by the terrorist attack on 9/11/2001, as a complement to the 2026 Jeanie Poole O'Shaughnessy Memorial Lecture. Follow along these next few days as we bring to the fore our collective memories of this day, and how its impacts are still felt.
