The Ground Zero Cross

Brian J. Jordan

Mey 2017 · Xlibris Corporation

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Two days after the terrible attack against the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, a union construction worker made a remarkable discovery within the ruins of World Trade Center 6. He saw a cross-like beam that stood on top of a heap of debris. He was stunned by its significance as were countless others after him. The purpose of this book is to trace the thirteen-year odyssey of this iconic cross from World Trade Center 6, to its position atop a concrete abutment within the World Trade Center during the recovery and rebuilding period, to the outside wall of St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church across from Ground Zero and finally to the National 9/11 Memorial Museum where it remains today. The odyssey also includes a three-year legal battle whose appellate decision found that the Constitution of the United States does not preclude the presence of the Ground Zero cross within the National 9/11 Memorial Museum. This book is the author’s personal memoir. He is a Franciscan priest who, through many uncertain days, was the unofficial guardian of the Ground Zero cross. The concurrent themes of the book treat spirituality, grief sharing, selfless sacrifice, architecture, church history, biblical theology, and litigation. The book tells the story of many obstacles transcended on the way to the triumph of the Ground Zero cross.

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Brian J. Jordan is a Franciscan priest from Holy Name Province of the Order of Friars Minor. His various assignments include: pastor, parish ministry, immigration counselor, community activist and labor advocate. He is currently chaplain at St. Francis College, Brooklyn. He is also chaplain to the New York City union construction workers and clergy liaison with the New York Police Department. He holds the Doctor of Ministry degree from Andover Newton Theological School and a Master’s Degree from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. He has written numerous articles on church ministry and labor issues. His first book Father William B. Farrell: Pastor, Peacemaker and Prophet was published by Edwin Mellen Press in 2017. The Ground Zero Cross is Father Jordan’s second book.