Mychal Judge
The chaplain of the New York Fire Department was the first recorded victim of 11 September 2001 – a gay priest who cared for people with AIDS.
Mychal Judge was born Robert Emmett Judge in Brooklyn, the son of Irish immigrants. His father died when he was six. As a boy he shined shoes near a Franciscan church in Manhattan, and at 15 he entered the order. He was ordained a priest in 1961 and worked in parishes in New Jersey and New York. In 1978 he overcame his alcoholism with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous.
From 1992 he was chaplain to the New York City Fire Department, at fires, in hospitals and with grieving families. He was known throughout the city for his work with homeless people, addicts and immigrants, and above all for his care of people with AIDS at a time when many were afraid even to touch them. He took part in Pride marches and supported gay Catholics.
On 11 September 2001 Judge rushed to the World Trade Center. He was praying in the lobby of the North Tower when the South Tower collapsed and debris killed him. A photograph of rescuers carrying his body out of the dust went round the world. In the official list of victims he was given the number 0001.
After his death, friends made public that Judge was gay; he had lived celibately, as his vows required. He was honoured as a hero and repeatedly proposed for sainthood, but the campaign found no support in the Church. To many queer Catholics he remains a symbol of compassion.