Wall Street will never forget the tragedy that occurred ten years ago this month.
It was a day that saw many colleagues, friends and family suddenly ripped from our lives. But their memories live on and the financial community will pause on this September 11, 2011, the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the U.S.
As part of the remembrance, the Security Traders Association of New York and Fordham University on Sunday, September 11, will mark the 10-year anniversary of 9/11 and the start of the new academic year with a special religious service. At 5 p.m. in the Fordham University Church on the Rose Hill Campus in the Bronx, a special "Mass of the Holy Spirit" will be held.
See Invitation: 9-11 Mass
According to John Tognino, a long time Wall Street veteran and chairman of the board of trustees at Fordham, the notion of combining the start of the academic year and a memorial service seemed appropriate.
"We wanted to do something special this year in remembrance," Tognino said. "So we decided to combine the annual 9-11 mass with the University’s Mass of Holy Spirit which marks the new school year."
For Tognino, the events of September 11 still ring fresh. As he told Traders Magazine, he still thinks of many who perished that day, especially 25 former employees who worked for him at Merrill Lynch. He ran Merrill’s Nasdaq trading desk from 1983 to 1988 but then moved across the street to work for Nasdaq as head of global sales and member relations. It was there he witnessed the attacks firsthand.
Tognino remembers the somber mood and low morale on Wall Street immediately following the attacks. But after a call from STANY and meetings at Fordham, the first remembrance service for the fallen was born and the healing began.
That service ten years ago at the Lincoln Center Campus saw over 1,500 people attend.
Planning for this year’s commemoration began three to four months ago, as STANY and Fordham decided to do something above the annual September 11 mass service. Students this year will be encouraged to remember 9-11 throughout their return to classes in the coming week, Tognino said. There will be special events dedicated to the memory of the fallen, such as a community service day, Saturday, September 10. He added all are invited to attend either the events or the mass.
"Attendance for the service is growing as all students and faculty will be there," Tognino said. For those who cannot make the 5 p.m. Rose Hill campus service, an 8 p.m. liturgy will be held at the school’s Lincoln Center location.
