Mychal Judge
Friar Mychal F. Judge (May 11, 1933 - September 11, 2001) was a Franciscan priest, and a chaplain for the Fire Department of New York City.
He died at age 68 in the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack in the destruction of the World Trade Center.
He was struck by falling debris, having removed his helmet to administer the Last rites to a mortally wounded comrade. Friar Judge was the first person to be officially declared a victim of the tragedy.
Former President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Rodham Clinton were among the 3,000 people who attended his funeral, which was held on September 15 at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Manhattan. Mr. Clinton said his death was "a special loss... We should live his life as an example of what has to prevail."
Friar Judge was homosexual, and according to his friends in the gay community, since the early 1990s he consistently spoke out as a voice for compassion and inclusiveness within the Catholic Church. He was known as one of the very first priests who would conduct mass for gay men who had died of AIDS.