EXCLUSIVE: Ground Zero Cross Became Stirring Symbol of Strength After 9/11
Ground Zero Cross became a stirring symbol of strength and hope for America after the 9/11 attacks.
Sept. 10 2026, Published 6:00 a.m. ET
Digging through the wreckage of Ground Zero on Sept. 13, 2001, one grief-wracked worker came upon a sight that instantly stirred hope within him, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Days later, Frank Silecchia tapped on the shoulder of a Franciscan priest who was blessing the remains on the ghastly site.
Ground Zero Cross Offers Sign of Hope
Frank Silecchia discovered the 17-foot steel cross amid the wreckage of Ground Zero.
"Father, you want to see God's House?" he asked. "Look over there."
The priest gazed over the shattered landscape, asking, "What am I looking for," he said. The solemn worker answered, "Just keep looking, Father, and see what you see."
"Oh my God," Father Brian Jordan said. "I see it."
Rising above the wasteland was the unmistakable sight of a 17-foot cross hewn from steel girders and weighing at least two tons.
Moved by the image, the priest called the sight a revelation and proof "God had not abandoned Ground Zero."
Silecchia said he was afraid the cross would be junked. "You found it," Father Jordan said. "I'll save it."
Ground Zero Cross Becomes Symbol of Hope
Father Brian Jordan convinced city officials to preserve the cross found at the 9/11 site.
The crusading priest convinced city officials to preserve the cross and allow volunteers to lift it out of the wreckage with a crane and mount it on a concrete pedestal near the site.
The stirring symbol became a gathering point for those looking for inspiration and was eventually moved to nearby St. Peter's Church bearing a plaque that reads: "The Cross at Ground Zero – Founded September 13, 2001; Blessed October 4, 2001; Temporarily Relocated October 5, 2006. Will return to WTC Museum, a sign of comfort for all."
Ground Zero Cross Finds Permanent Home
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American Atheists unsuccessfully sued to remove the Ground Zero cross from the museum.
In 2011, the cross was blessed by Father Jordan and moved back to Ground Zero, where it stands today as the centerpiece of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum.
Federal courts rejected a lawsuit by the American Atheists group to remove the cross and Silecchia said: "My cross is not a symbol of religion. It's a symbol of faith."
