Newark, N.J. – Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., Archbishop of Newark, and the Scholarship Fund for Inner-City Children (SFIC) will commemorate the 20th Anniversary of 9/11 with a remembrance ceremony at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark on Wednesday, September 8, at 5 p.m.

All are invited to attend the ceremony, which will feature a special Mass led by Cardinal Tobin. This Mass will be a solemn and sacred opportunity to honor those who died during the 9/11 terrorist attacks while praying for those they left behind two decades ago.

“Until we join them in the Kingdom of Heaven, we will always miss those whose lives were tragically cut short just a few miles from our Cathedral on 9/11,” Cardinal Tobin said. “One can never truly recover from such a profound loss. But God’s love provides the ultimate comfort. And at the remembrance ceremony, we will give thanks He is with us and ask Him to bless all who have grieved for the past 20 years.”

The ceremony will also bring attention to three SFIC “remembrance scholarships” that were created in tribute to 9/11 victims. The first — the Patrick S. Murphy Scholarship — was established by Vera Murphy-Trayner in 2006 to honor her husband following his death in the World Trade Center. Murphy-Trayner and her daughter, Maggie Murphy, will participate in the Mass as gift bearers.

The other two scholarships were newly-endowed by Mother Seton Regional High School in Clark and Immaculate Conception High School in Montclair to acknowledge the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Each of these scholarships helps fulfill the SFIC’s mission of providing partial-tuition assistance to economically-disadvantaged children attending private and parochial schools within Bergen, Essex, Hudson, and Union counties. Thanks to generous donors, approximately $150,000 will be given to those three scholarships as well as other schools in honor of the remembrance ceremony.

“The SFIC deeply cares about the innocent lives lost during the tragedy of 9/11, so we decided to hold this remembrance ceremony as a way of honoring their memory and helping their loved ones heal on the 20th anniversary,” said Edward J. Garcia, SFIC’s Major Gifts Officer. “By offering these scholarships, we want to provide hope for the future while letting everyone know that the victims of 9/11 will never be forgotten.”

To learn more about the Scholarship Fund for Inner-City Children or donate to its scholarships, visit https://www.sficnj.org/.

About the Scholarship Fund for Inner-City Children
The SFIC, founded in 1983 as the Fund for Educational Advancement, is a non-profit organization funded by corporations, foundations, and individual donors who wish to invest in the future of economically-disadvantaged children living in neighboring communities. The fund has provided more than $54 million in partial-tuition assistance to students from economically-disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds within the Archdiocese of Newark, including Bergen, Essex, Hudson, and Union counties. Scholarships are based on need without regard to religion, gender, race, or ethnic background. Applicant families must be ready to provide proof of income and must intend to attend one of the schools within the four counties it serves.

About the Archdiocese of Newark
The Archdiocese of Newark serves approximately 1.3 million Catholics who reside in the 511 square miles of the four counties it serves: Bergen, Essex, Hudson, and Union counties. Comprised of 212 Catholic parishes and 74 primary and secondary Catholic schools, the Archdiocese is shepherded by Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R. He was appointed Archbishop of Newark on November 7, 2016, and elevated to Cardinal by the Holy Father, Pope Francis, on November 19, 2016. Cardinal Tobin was installed as Archbishop of Newark on January 6, 2017. To learn more, visit www.rcan.org.

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