Brooklyn Diocese pays tribute to fallen first responders on 9/11

To honor the brave New York City first responders who lost their lives on September 11, 2001, a tribute held by the Diocese of Brooklyn 15 years later on Sunday, September 11, 2016 featured a mass, a procession and a rare performance.

Firefighters from across the country joined the city’s bravest, their families and families of the fallen at Ground Zero in lower Manhattan to start the commemorative day.

Led by firetrucks and motorcycles, attendees marched 24 flags in single file across the Brooklyn Bridge, according to the Diocese – a way to symbolize the 24 firefighters from Brooklyn’s Battalion 57 whose bodies were never recovered from the scene.

“The journey from Ground Zero to Brooklyn serves to symbolically bring the brothers back home,” the Brooklyn Diocese released in a statement.

The procession marched past several firehouses and culminated at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph, 856 Pacific Street in Prospect Heights, where a noon Memorial Mass, led by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, took place.

The Foundation for the Revival of Classical Culture presented a special performance of Mozart’s Requiem, a piece rarely performed during a mass, according to the Diocese.

The Schiller Institute NYC Community Chorus, accompanied by a 42-piece orchestra and guest soloists, performed the Requiem at the “Verdi tuning” – a pitch that is mathematically consistent with sounds of the universe, making it an overall healing experience for listeners.

“Proper Verdi tuning allows for the most transparent blend of the human voice with the instruments, and thus, maximum sonority,” said Lynn Yen, the executive director of the Foundation for the Revival of Classical Culture. “To hear the Mozart Requiem at this pitch is to experience the transcendent power of sacred music—to experience the true glory of God and music.”

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