And Our Seal Was Still There
Yankee Stadium – September 23, 2001
From a speech by Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani
Even in the midst of the darkest tragedy there are miracles that help our faith to go on. I would like to share one miracle of September 11th with you.
St. Paul's Chapel is one of the oldest and most historic buildings in the City of New York. It was built in 1766, when the surrounding area was still countryside. The Chapel survived our war of independence – including seven years of wartime occupation.
After George Washington was inaugurated the first President of the United States, in New York City on April 30th, 1789, he walked to St. Paul's, and he kneeled down to pray. The pew where he worshipped is still there. Framed on the wall beside it is the oldest known representation of the Great Seal of the United States of America
It's a majestic eagle, holding in one talon an olive branch, proclaiming our abiding desire for peace. . . and in the other, a cluster of arrows, a forewarning of our determination to defend our liberty. On a banner above the Eagle is written E Pluribus Unum, "Out of Many, One."
For the past 25 years, the chapel stood directly in the shadow of the World Trade Center Towers. When the Towers fell, more than a dozen modern buildings were destroyed and damaged. Yet somehow, amid all the destruction and devastation, St. Paul's Chapel still stands. . . without so much as a broken window.
It's a small miracle in some ways, but the presence of that chapel standing defiant and serene amid the ruins of war sends an eloquent message about the strength and resilience of the people of New York City, and the people of America.
We unite under the banner of E Pluribus Unum. We find strength in our diversity. We're a city where people look different, talk different, think different. But we're a City at one with all of the people at the World Trade Center, and with all of America. We love our diversity, and we love our freedom.
Like our founding fathers who fought and died for freedom. . . like our ancestors who fought and died to preserve our union and to end the sin of slavery. . . like our fathers and grandfathers who fought and died to liberate the world from Nazism, and Fascism, and Communism. . . the cluster of arrows to defend our freedom, and the olive branch of peace have now been handed to us.
We will hold them firmly in our hands, honor their memory, and lift them up toward heaven to light the world.
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