Minnesota priest who ministered at Ground Zero on 9/11 returning to NYC 25 years later

Twenty-five years after the terrorist attacks that altered American history on September 11, 2001, a Minnesota priest is traveling back to Manhattan.

Father Jeff  Ethen of the Catholic Diocese of St. Cloud was sightseeing in New York City alongside Father Peter Kirchner 25 years ago when the Twin Towers fell. The priests immediately started ministering on the streets and to the firefighters working tirelessly on the ground. They first talked with WCCO just days after the attacks.

"The only response possible was to help somebody else. You had to pick somebody else up in order to stand up yourself," Ethen said.

Ethen said the two priests planned to visit the World Trade Center that same day but instead spent time having another cup of coffee.

"We had an extra cup of coffee, and it was that second cup of coffee is when the plane struck," he said. 'We had our church clerics with us, our collars, and so we were able to help at the Ground Zero hospital closest to the disaster. So we worked with the firefighters being brought in as part of a clergy crew."

Ethen said those days forever altered his ministry and deepened his faith. 

Back in Minnesota, he's served the firefighters of Battle Lake. Now, six members of the department will join Ethen for the 25th commemoration in New York City. That includes firefighter Tim McCarte, who said the tragedy spurred him on in the effort to serve his community. 

"I was actually talking about joining the fire department before that, and that kind of solidified my desire to be a firefighter after I saw everything that happened on 9/11," McCarte said. 

The firefighters say that despite the distance and their vastly different communities, they have a brotherhood with those who serve across the nation.

Ethen helped connect the firehouse in Battle Lake with a fire company in New York City. The group will visit those firefighters later this week for the commemoration. It's a trip Ethen has made a handful of times: five, 10 and 20 years after the attacks. 

"What it is about is serving others," Ethen said. 

He hopes others will hear that message and do the same.