About the Pastor
I was ordained by Bishop Francis J. Mugavero on May 28, 1977. I have served in a parish my entire priestly life at St. Rosalia-Regina Pacis, St. Anselm, St. Jude, St. Edmund, St. Bernadette, and now Our Lady of Guadalupe, all in Brooklyn. I have been a Pastor for over twelve years and an NYPD Chaplain for over ten years. During that time I have celebrated countless Masses, baptized hundreds of babies, married many couples, attended the sick at home and the hospital, and visited the children in our parish school and religious education program. I guess you can say I do the normal, yet important work of any priest. My life as a priest was ordinary until one fateful day that changed my life.
Tuesday morning, September 11, 2001, started out as a beautiful crisp and clear day. I was getting ready to celebrate a Funeral Mass when I heard something on the radio about a plane and the World Trade Center. I turned on the TV to see what was happening. I was shocked at what I saw. I changed from my clerical clothes into my NYPD work uniform. I knew I had to get to the site right after the funeral. As I celebrated Mass, I noticed a lot of commotion in the rear of the church. The funeral director was in and out of the building. As I completed the funeral and reached the doors of the church, I was told about the second plane in the WTC and the planes in Washington and Pennsylvania. They also told me about the collapse of the buildings. I expressed my condolences to the family and they told me to "go and help those poor people.”
I returned to the rectory and called the local precinct for a police car to get me to the site. Within a few short minutes, I heard the siren approaching and was sped to Manhattan. As we drove on the highway leading to Manhattan we could see the smoke cloud that had enveloped the city. It was very eerie. I reported to a firehouse in Greenwich Village which was the temporary seat of the city government. I met with Mayor Giuliani and Commissioner Kerick and asked what they would like me to do. “Check the hospitals,” they both said. The Commissioner gave me one of his cars and one of his drivers that day. We went to Bellevue Hospital which was empty. No patients had been brought there. We sped to St. Vincent’s Hospital. There was only one cop there who got stitches in his hand. The cop told us that it was horrible downtown. I looked at the driver; not a word was said; we know where we had to be.
As we got closer, the dust in the air blocked out the sun. The sound was muffled because of all the material that was in the air. The sight and the lack of sound reminded me of the words of the Passion: “darkness covered the whole world.” We got two surgical masks to help us breathe. They were useless. We were then confronted by what continually invades my dreams – the carnage, the destruction, and the death. I caught sight of my classmate, Msgr. John Delendick, the Fire Department Chaplain. He had a far-away look on his face. He told me that hundreds of firefighters were unaccounted for and feared dead. He also told me that Father Mychal Judge, a fire chaplain, had been killed. Reality hit like a ton of bricks. I told him I had to go and check on the cops. I started to find out that many of the cops I knew were among the dead. I found out, as the hours passed, that a college seminary classmate, several of my former altar boys, and my Godson also perished that day.
September 11th was going to be the most significant event in my priestly life. I went to Police Headquarters, where a temporary Family Center had been started. It was there that families would find out if their loved ones were okay, injured, missing, or dead. It was difficult to be supportive, especially to the families I knew, but I had to be positive and optimistic. We prayed and we began something that had never happened before in Headquarters - daily Mass. Each morning all the chaplains celebrated Mass for the families who basically lived in the auditorium of Headquarters. After Mass, I would make the rounds and distribute Holy Communion to the cops in the Emergency Operation Center and Operations unit. They worked twelve-hour shifts and could not leave their posts. It was a sight to behold.
Besides the Masses at Headquarters, I realized that the cops out at “Ground Zero” had to be ministered to also. From the first Sunday after the attack to the day, the last piece of steel was removed from the “the pit,” I celebrated Mass every Sunday and Holy Day for the families and members of the Emergency Service Unit at “Ground Zero”. Each Sunday the Commissioner and Chief of the Department would attend. The numbers grew. Faith was on the rise. Mass was brief, it had to be to accommodate the rescue shift that was finishing and the one that was about to start. I would tell them, “Give me 22 minutes and I’ll give you our faith.”
The Dynamic Duo
Monsignor Robert J. Romano & Monsignor David L. Cassato
A September 11th Tribute — 25 Years of Faith, Service & Remembrance
September 13, 2026
As we gather to remember September 11th, we remember a day that forever changed our city, our country, and so many families. We remember the innocent lives that were taken that day. We remember the courage and sacrifice of our first responders. And we remember the families who were left to carry an unimaginable loss. But we also know that the loss did not end on September 11, 2001. Throughout these past 25 years, many more lives have been lost because of that day. First responders, police officers, firefighters, rescue and recovery workers, and others who were exposed at Ground Zero later became sick and passed away from 9/11-related illnesses and complications. Their sacrifice is part of the story of September 11th, too. Their families have endured years of illness, uncertainty, grief, and loss. When we say, “We will never forget,” we remember them, too. Through my years of working alongside and supporting our NYPD community, I have had the privilege of witnessing something very special: people who don't just show up in a moment of tragedy, but keep showing up long after the cameras are gone and the world has moved on. Tonight, I want to recognize two of those extraordinary people — two men I lovingly call “The Dynamic Duo.” Monsignor Robert J. Romano and Monsignor David L. Cassato. For 25 years, you have stood beside the families of September 11th. You were there in the darkest hours, when there were no words powerful enough to take away the pain. You were there to pray. You were there to listen. You were there to hold a hand, embrace a grieving family, and remind people that even in the midst of unimaginable darkness, God had not abandoned them. And you continued to be there — not only in the days and months after September 11th, but year after year, anniversary after anniversary, funeral after funeral, memorial after memorial. You did not simply respond to a tragedy. You made a commitment to walk beside these families for a lifetime. As chaplains, you have carried far more than a title. You have carried people’s grief, their memories, their fears, and their prayers. You have stood beside our police officers and first responders. You have comforted widows, children, parents, brothers, sisters, friends, and colleagues. You have helped families find strength when their hearts were broken and hope when the road ahead seemed impossible. And as more members of our 9/11 community became ill and, sadly, as more were called home to God over these 25 years, you continued to stand beside them and their families. You continued to pray, comfort, honor, and remember. There are certain people God places in our lives to show us what faith looks like in action. Monsignor Romano and Monsignor Cassato, you are two of those people. Twenty-five years later, you continue to remind us what it truly means to never forget. We never forget not only by remembering those beautiful souls we lost on September 11th, but by remembering every life lost in the years that followed and by continuing to love, support, and stand beside the people they left behind. Tonight, I want you both to know that your service has mattered. Your presence has mattered. Your prayers have mattered. And the love and compassion you have given to these families for a quarter of a century will never be forgotten. Monsignor Romano and Monsignor Cassato — our Dynamic Duo — from the bottom of my heart, thank you. Thank you for your faith. Thank you for your compassion. Thank you for your strength. Thank you for answering the call when our city needed you most. And thank you for continuing to answer that call for 25 years. May God bless you both. May God continue to bless and protect our NYPD, our first responders, and their families. May He comfort every family that continues to carry the loss of September 11th. And may we always remember every beautiful soul who never came home — and every beautiful soul we have lost because of that day in the 25 years since.
WE WILL NEVER FORGET.
God bless you both, God bless New York City, and may God bless the United States of America.