THE REV. MYCHAL JUDGE

He helped guide a town through some of its darkest hours.

He listened and provided comfort to hundreds of firefighters and their families. Now he is one of the thousands to be mourned.

The Rev. Mychal Judge, 68, a Franciscan priest who served as chaplain for the New York City Fire Department, was killed Tuesday with several fire chiefs as he stood outside the World Trade Center just before the towers imploded.

According to a spokesman at St. Francis R.C. Church on West 31st Street -- Judge's home since 1986 -- Judge was giving last rites to a victim when the cleric was killed by falling debris. He had driven his car to the disaster site after another friar told him about the first plane hitting the building.

"He had an intuitive sense about people -- when they were hurting -- and he would go where he was needed," said the Rev. Thomas Hartle, a fellow friar from St. Anthony R.C. Church in Butler. "Going with his firemen brothers downtown Tuesday is exactly what he was all about. People were hurt, and he was going to do what he could to comfort them."

The Irish priest, known for his "snappy laugh" and charismatic personality, will be missed not only by firefighters, but also by parishioners at St. Joseph R.C. Church in East Rutherford and St. Joseph R.C. Church in West Milford, where he served as pastor to both congregations decades ago.

His years (1980-85) in West Milford were probably the most trying in the town's history. Five teenagers committed suicide and several more died in alcohol-related automobile accidents within several years.

His words of spiritual guidance at the time are eerily comforting today.

"There really are no answers that you can give people, but somehow you have to give them hope that somewhere, something good will come to lift us up and keep us going until we get the eternal vision of God."

For those concerned with how tragedies of such magnitude will affect children, Judge offered words of comfort years ago:

"When tragedies strike us at any early age, maybe religion takes on a greater meaning. The closer the tragedy is to our heart and home, the more likely faith is to form, because we've been tried and tested, and from that comes faith."

Father Bernard Splawaski came to West Milford a year after Judge was transferred from the parish, but knew him ever since both were studying together at the seminary.

"He was at many disaster scenes in his life and was wonderful at sharing sympathy, listening, and providing hope," Splawaski said. "He was here during such a trying time for this community, and he managed to give hope to so many people."

Father Richard Husted of St. Joseph's in East Rutherford said many in his congregation feel that Judge is a legend.

"Most here think of him as a member of their family," Husted said. "This is a great loss for all of us."

But parishioners were not the only ones Judge comforted through the years. Firefighters throughout the area saw him giving hope at the funerals of fallen comrades or at hospital bedsides -- as well as celebrating at parades and parties.

"He was a real fire buff," said Paterson Fire Chief James Pasquariello. "He just loved firemen and their jobs."

The wake for Judge will be held Thursday and Friday from 2 to 9 p.m. at St. Francis Church. His funeral Mass will be Saturday at 10:30 a.m.

A memorial Mass for Judge and the other victims of the World Trade Center attack will be held at St. Joseph's in East Rutherford on Sunday at 5:30 p.m.

St. Joseph's in West Milford will have a memorial Mass for Judge on Saturday, Sept. 29, at 10:30 a.m.

-- BARBARA WILLIAMS

Used by permission of Barbara Williams 9/13/2001