Gay 9/11 hero remembered

Father Mychal Judge, a gay Catholic chaplain with the New York Fire Department who was recognised as the first official victim of the Al Qaeda attacks on the World Trade Centre (WTC) on September 11 2001, was remembered at a September 4 service at St Francis Church, where he worked and lived.

Judge’s body bag was labelled ‘Victim 0001’ as he was the first victim documented by a coroner on the ground.

Judge put on his collar and firefighting gear and raced to the WTC when he heard of the attacks and is believed to have been killed by falling concrete and steel when the centre’s South Tower collapsed.

Judge did charity work with people with HIV and was a member of gay Catholic group Dignity New York but most people had not known of his sexuality before the 9/11 attacks.