Judge, Robert Emmett

Robert Emmett (Michael) was the son of Irish Catholic immigrants from County Litrim. He grew up with his sister twin Dimnaya and older sister Eren in Brooklyn during the Great Depression . His compassion for the poor manifested itself at a young age. He often gave his pocket money to the poor on the street.

At the age of six, he witnessed the painful and painful death of his father. Then he had to moonlight as a shoe-polisher at the Pennsylvania Station . While working there, he often went to the Church of St. Francis of Assisi on 31st Street. Later, he decided: "I realized that I did not care about material matters ... I already realized then that I want to be a monk" ^[3] .

In 1948, when Robert Emmett was 15 years old, he began to enter the Franciscan community: he studied at the seminaries in New York , New Jersey and New Hampshire and received a bachelor's degree from St. George’s University . Bonaventure . After his training, he is ordained a priest at the College of the Holy Name in Washington, DC in 1961. ^[4] Entering the Franciscan community, he takes the new name Michael, and later changes his name to Mikail ^[5] .

From 1961 to 1986 he serves as a priest in the churches of Boston and New Jersey. For three years, he has been Assistant Director of Siena College in Loudonville , NY . In 1971, father Michael became an alcoholic, although before that he did not show any propensity for alcoholism. In 1978, with the help of the society of anonymous alcoholics, he was cured of alcoholism and since then has been helping other alcoholics by talking about his experience in getting rid of addiction ^[6] . In 1986, he was transferred to the monastery of St. Francis ( New York ), where he worked until his death ^[7] .

In 1992, Michael's father was appointed chaplain of the New York Fire Department. As a chaplain, he supported people in fires, rescue operations, in hospitals, and advised firefighters. Sometimes in such situations I had to work 16 hours a day. “His whole ministry was filled with love. Michael loved the fire department, and they loved him. He was a member of the American Federation of Employees, the largest organization for the protection of workers' rights in the United States ” ^[8] .

Michael's father in New York dealt with the problems of the homeless, starving, alcoholics, people living with HIV , patients, emigrants, the LGBT community and all those who are alienated by the church and society ^[9] .

One day, walking down the street in winter, he saw a beggar. He took off his coat and gave it to her. He later said that she needed it. Another of the cases described in the movie “Saint 9/11”: a man diagnosed with AIDS came to Father Michael and asked, “Do you think God hates me?” In response, Father Michael simply hugged and kissed this man, shaking his hand ^[10] .

Even during the life of Father Michael, many considered it sacred for his charity work and deep spirituality. When he prayed, he “was so immersed in God as if he was entering into some kind of trance, not noticing how the hours went by” ^[11] . “He achieved an extraordinary degree of reunion with the Lord. We knew that we were dealing with a person directly connected with God , ”said his spiritual adviser, father John McNeil, about the lost father Michael ^[12] .

As soon as Father Michael heard that the World Trade Center had been hit, he immediately set off for the scene. He was met by New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and asked to pray for the city and for the victims. He made a parting prayer before death for several mortally wounded who were lying on the street. Then he entered the hall of the shopping center of the north tower, where an ambulance station was organized, where he provided assistance and prayed for the wounded and the dead.

At 9.59 on September 11, 2001, the collapse of the south tower began. Its wreckage fell on the hall of the north tower, causing fatal injuries to the people there. According to Michael Dali, biographer of Michael’s father and journalist of the New York Post , at that moment father Michael prayed aloud: “Jesus, stop it right now, Lord, stop it” ^[13] .

Shortly after his death, the police lieutenant, who was under the rubble, found the body of Michael's father. Together with two rescuers and two civilians, they transferred the body of Father Michael to the nearest church of St. Petra. This moment entered the famous film 9/11 . The footage of this scene was recognized by the Philadelphia Weekly newspaper as a September 11, 2001 piet .

Father Michael was assigned the number 0001 as the first recorded victim of terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. ^[14]

About 3000 people attended the funeral of Father Michael on September 15, 2001 in the church of St. Francis in Manhattan . Former US President Bill Clinton , who attended the funeral, said: “His death is a special loss. We must take his life as an example to follow. We should be more like Michael's father than those who killed him ” ^[10] .

Many have since called for the canonization of Michael's father, although no official aspirations have been recorded from the official Vatican . The Catholic American Orthodox Church recognized him as a saint. Many Catholic preachers recognize him as a de facto saint ^{[15] [16] [17] [18]} .

After the attack, Father Michael’s fire helmet was handed to Pope John Paul II . The French government awarded Father Michael the Legion of Honor . Also, Michael Judge was nominated for the Presidential Medal of Liberty and the gold medal of the US Congress ^[19] . The part of the street on which Michael Judge worked as a shoe polisher and served as a pastor in the church was renamed in his honor ^[20] . The name of Michael Judge was given to one of the New York steamboats ^[21] .

In 2002, the U.S. Congress approved the legislation, which was named after Michael Judge. The document equalized the rights to receive subsidies from same-sex partners with policemen and firefighters who died during the service ^[22] .

In honor of Michael Judge, a monument was erected in his native village in Ireland. The film Saint 9/11, which tells about the life of Father Michael, was also shot about him. voiced by Sir Ian McKellen. Irish band Back47 released a song in honor of Michael Judge “Mychal” ^{[23] [24]} .

Every Sunday, prior to September 11, a march in memory of Michael Judge is held in New York. It begins with the church where Father Michael served, and ends with the site of the collapse of the twin towers ^[25] . Every September 11th, a mass is held in Boston in memory of Michael Judge ^[26] . The name of Michael Judge is immortalized in the memorial complex dedicated to the events of September 11, 2001 ^[27] .

After the death of Michael Judge, several of his friends and acquaintances revealed that he was gay. It was emphasized that Judge observed celibacy as a monk ^{[28] [29]} . Thomas Von Essen, the Fire Commissioner, spoke of Father Michael: “I really knew about his homosexuality. I kept it a secret. He told me about this himself. We often laughed at this and how difficult it would be for other firefighters to accept it simply as I did. He was an extraordinary, kind and sincere person. The fact that he was gay had nothing to do with it ” ^[30] .

Lawyer Dennis Lynch tried to challenge the fact of homosexuality of Michael's father in an article published on the Catholic site catholic.org. He claimed that trying to label Michael Judge as a gay man was an attempt by LGBT activists to attack the church and turn the priest into a gay icon ^[31] .

Michael Judge was a member of the Catholic LGBT organization DignityUSA , which advocated changing and revising the position of the Catholic Church regarding the LGBT community ^{[17] [32]} . In 1986, the Vatican issued a special decree sharply condemning homosexuality. After the church refuses to patronize DignityUSA . Then father Michael takes custody of his church for people with AIDS , who were supervised by a disgraced organization. Thus, Michael Judge violated the Vatican’s decree ^[33] .

Michael Judge described his disagreement with the Vatican's official position regarding homosexuality as follows: “Is there really so much love in the world that we can afford the luxury of rejecting any love?” ^[34]

• Michael Ford: Father Mychal Judge: an authentic American hero (2002)
• Kelly Ann Lynch: He Said Yes: The Story of Father Mychal Judge (2007)
• Michael Daly: The Book of Mychal: The Surprising Life and Heroic Death of Father Mychal Judge (2009)
• Salvatore Sapienza: Mychal's Prayer: Praying with Father Mychal Judge (2011)

• Nachruf auf der Internetseite der St. Francis of assisi church
• Nachruf auf der Internetseite der St. Bonaventure university
• The firemen's friar
• Offizielle Internetseite des Dokumentarfilms Saint of 9/11
• http://www.beliefnet.com/Wellness/2006/09/The-Happiest-Man-On-Earth-The-Eulogy-For-Father-Mychal-Judge.aspx
• https://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/27/nyregion/killed-on-9-11-fire-chaplain-becomes-larger-than-life.html
• Movie saint 9/11