9/11 — 25 years and Counting. — Center for Women, the Earth, the Divine

Collection 9/11 Memorial Museum Gift of NYU Child Study Center

Notice!

Although designed as a meditation,

graphics and photos

— of 9/11 and of the Stations of the Cross —

may still be unsettling.

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It is hard to believe that a full quarter-century has passed since September 11, 2001. Twenty-five years later, we are still counting. We are marking the time, remembering the losses, and looking at how much the world has changed since that fateful cloudless Tuesday morning.

While the anniversary always brings back distinct memories, for this milestone 25th year I am reflecting on a uniquely heartbreaking tribute: a display case pairing the devastation of 9/11 with the Stations of the Cross.

If you happened to have been in—or visited—Cathedral High School, an all-girls Catholic school in Manhattan, you might have noticed a glass display case on the third floor of the building. (Cathedral has since permanently closed its doors as of June 30, 2026.)

Standing behind the glass of the display was a row of framed photos arranged by Sister Eileen O’Carroll, RGS, a religious sister of the Good Shepherd, and one of the school guidance counselors. At the forefront of the display stood a sign with the words:

NEVER FORGET!

The photos included the events of September 11, 2001.

However, the captions beneath the photos were odd.

Sister Eileen had taken original newspaper clippings and paired journalists’ photos with what some Christians call the Stations of the Cross.

These Stations are 14 images artfully rendered and usually portrayed in standalone plaques that hang on the walls of the churches of those Christian communities that hold them as devotional art for meditation and prayer.

The images depict what is also called the “Way of the Cross.” They focus only on the period from the condemnation of Jesus of Nazareth, through his painful walk along a street in Jerusalem while carrying the cross on which he would be crucified, and conclude with his death and burial.

During the Lenten season before Easter, people may gather and pray before the images in silent meditation or listen to each Station being announced and prayerfully explained or interpreted.

In the Old City of Jerusalem, specifically on Good Friday, Christians walk in procession along the street believed to have been the route taken by Jesus. The route is referred to as the “Via Dolorosa,” and the 14 Stations are located along its path. As the people process they pray and meditate on his final journey. Similar processions occur in the streets of other towns and cities.

When I first saw Sr. Eileen’s exhibit way back in 2013, as a religion teacher in the school I was very interested in it. I asked her if she had retained copies of the photos she had used in the 14 frames.

To my surprise, along with a positive response to my question, she also handed me a bag filled with the original clippings and even some full pages of the newspapers that had been her source.

Sr. Eileen had created a new, and very different, meditation.

Her work also differed from the traditional Stations in that the display did not stop with the death of Jesus. She ended the timeline with an additional framed photo—an acknowledgment of a New Day—of Resurrection.

To keep Sr. Eileen’s artistic synergy alive and preserve the photos, before I returned them to her, I copied them with her permission and created a 10-page meditation booklet through the technology of the Shutterfly company.

I titled the booklet Remember and dedicated it as “a tribute to the many photographers and reporters, and to all the victims and those who bravely assisted where needed.”

Sr. Eileen has given me permission to use her thoughtful meditation in this post. I am presenting the images in the format as they exist in my booklet, taking snapshots of them directly from its pages.

As we hit this 25-year milestone today, I want to share the quiet, powerful journey of this artwork, and the message of hope it still carries.

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