A steel beam from the World Trade Center’s South Tower now stands in front of the White House.
The beam, recovered after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, was placed there to mark the 25th anniversary of that day. It is part of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s “Steel Across America” tour, which has been bringing the beam to locations across the country.
FDNY Chaplain Monsignor Jamie J. Gigantiello delivered a prayer in front of the beam, and his words drew a clear line between the horror of September 11th and what he called the quiet miracle of September 12th.
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“Twenty-five years have passed, but we have not forgotten,” he said. “We remember the innocent men, women, and children whose lives were taken by an evil that sought to divide, destroy, and spread hatred.”
According to a report, Gigantiello also honored those who ran toward the danger, naming firefighters, police officers, paramedics, EMTs, first responders, and military personnel. He acknowledged that many died that day, and that thousands more became ill in the years that followed from toxic conditions at the site. Some of those individuals have since died. Others are still battling illness today.
But it was his turn toward September 12th that gave the prayer its weight.
“On September 12th, something extraordinary happened,” he said. “America and much of the world came together. People reached across differences. Strangers embraced. Neighbors helped neighbors. People of different faiths, races, backgrounds, and political beliefs stood together, because for a moment, we understood what matters most. We are human beings first.”
Gigantiello framed the beam not as a relic of destruction, but as a symbol with a living purpose. He called on listeners to let each mark on the steel represent a life, a soul, a person. Each bend, he said, stands for courage. Each inch is a reminder that people can choose light even in the deepest darkness.
He closed with the line that has since drawn the most attention: “Evil can bend steel, but cannot bend the human spirit, and hatred can take lives, but it cannot extinguish love.”
He asked God to bless the fallen, the first responders, their families, and the United States. His final words were a call to action drawn from the lessons of that second day: “Help us do good. Amen.”
The beam, once part of a tower that collapsed, now stands near the seat of American government as a memorial and a challenge to anyone who sees it.
