In early September students in the sixth-grade religion class at Cardinal Pacelli embarked on a project to remember and honor those who died on September 11, 2001. For the twenty-year anniversary of 9/11, they turned their attention to the victims of this tragedy.

Each student chose one person to honor, creating a written profile and then a digital slide that was incorporated into a class slide show. Their teacher, Maggie Taul, lit four candles on the Friday before September 11, one for each plane that crashed. The class said prayers for all of those who died and their family and friends. Finally, each student painted a rock in honor of their person of tribute.

Sixth grader Max Nelson wrote about a chef in the South Tower. “Benjamin Clark was a Le Cordon Bleu trained executive chef for the Fiduciary Trust Company on the 96th floor of the South Tower. He was 39 years old and last seen on the 88th floor helping to carry a woman in her wheelchair.”

“It’s not just the tragedy of September 11, 2001 that we must remember, but the feeling of unity that we felt on September 12, 2001.” Twenty years have gone by and young people are still learning about the impact of this day. The stories of ordinary people performing extraordinary acts of kindness remind us that there is light in even the darkest moments.