Twenty-five years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the memory of those who died continues to carry a powerful message about sacrifice, service and how Americans choose to live in the years that follow.
In an interview with Vatican News, Daniel Nigro, the former Chief of Operations of the New York City Fire Department who assumed command during the attacks, reflected on the firefighters who gave their lives, the lasting health consequences suffered by first responders and the responsibility to keep the memory of 9/11 alive for future generations.
For Nigro, a quarter-century has done little to lessen the grief.
“Well, it never gets old; the feeling of sadness 25 years later is the same,” Nigro told Vatican News.
He reflected on the experiences he has been blessed to have during the years since the attacks — experiences denied to friends and others who died that day.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to see my daughters’ weddings, my grandchildren’s births,” he said. “My friends and other folks never got to experience that, and I can’t help but be sad this year and every year.”
Among the dead were 343 New York City firefighters. But according to Nigro’s interview with Vatican News, the losses did not end on September 11, 2001.
Firefighters and other first responders spent months working at the World Trade Center site, where exposure to hazardous conditions was followed by cancers and other illnesses among those who served there. Nigro said the Fire Department has since lost nearly 500 members and revealed that he, too, has battled cancer.
“Thank goodness I’m fine right now, but it seems to be the story of post-9/11,” he said.
Despite the extraordinary losses suffered by the department, Nigro said its fundamental mission has remained unchanged.
“The mission of the Fire Department remains the same, and we’re here to serve the public and to save lives and to save property,” he told Vatican News.
That spirit of service remains especially important as the events of September 11 pass increasingly from living memory into history. Nigro noted that new firefighters are taught about the attacks at the Fire Academy and are brought to the World Trade Center site before graduation to visit the memorial, hear the story and learn about those who came before them.
For Nigro, remembering 9/11 means remembering ordinary people who went to work that morning, the first responders who rushed toward danger and those who placed the lives of strangers ahead of their own.
But his message for the 25th anniversary goes beyond remembrance.
Nigro told Vatican News that many people now observe September 11 as “a day to give back,” whether by providing meals or performing other acts of generosity. Rather than allowing tragedy to produce lasting hatred, he believes the lives lost that day can be honored through the way people treat one another.
“How can we use our lives in a better way to honour those who passed?” Nigro asked. “And the way we can do that is by being generous, being kind, being thoughtful, and not being hateful and vindictive.”
For Catholics, that call carries particular resonance. Christian remembrance is not meant to remain only in sorrow, but to inspire acts of mercy, charity and self-giving. The sacrifice of those who ran toward danger to save others also offers a profound reminder of Christ’s teaching that there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for another.
Twenty-five years later, Nigro’s hope is simple: remember those who died, remember those who sacrificed, and use the life that remains to do good.
“While we’re able to,” he said, recalling the message of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, “let’s do good.”
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