Across many Catholic dioceses on Sunday, Church leaders expressed messages of sacrifice and hope as the nation remembered the 9/11 attacks of 21 years ago.

“Today we remember those who lost their lives in the 2001 attacks,” the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee tweeted. “We pray for the victims, for their families and for peace in the world.”

It was a message heard in various forms throughout the nation’s dioceses, where some even celebrated remembrance Masses.

“Dear police officers, firefighters, sheriffs and park rangers of our city of San Francisco: It is an honor for us to host you here… for this Mass in which we thank you for the sacrifices you make for us, sacrifices mostly which we do not even see,” Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone said on Twitter.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), not for the first time, also publicized a message on the topic.

“As we remember Sept. 11, 2001, let us reflect on Pope Francis' Prayer of Remembrance at Ground Zero in 2015,” the USCCB tweeted. Its message included the introduction to Pope Francis’ prayer from a visit to Ground Zero in New York in September 2015. That full prayer can be read here.

The deadly attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon have been a subject of prayer and pastoral messages from the get-go, with the USCCB making one of the first widely disseminated ones.

The USCCB released “Living With Faith and Hope After September 11,” a pastoral message, about two months after the attacks. The bishops quote the Beatitudes (Mt. 5:4,6,7,9) in it, saying, “We offer words of consolation, criteria for moral discernment, and a call to action and solidarity in these troubling and challenging times.”

The bishops used the occasion to honor the firefighters, law enforcement officers, chaplains and others who died during or after the attacks. The document discusses such things as responding with faith and justice, and offers insights into the role religion can play in politics and terrorism. The USCCB emphasized the nation’s commitment to the common good, in unity with a determination to come together and defend America from all future threats, according to the pastoral message.

The Pillar in 2021 released “The Catholic Church and 9/11,” an article documenting stories and testimonials about the day. Pope St. John Paul II remembered the attacks on Sept. 12, 2002, saying, “Christ’s word is the only one that can give a response to the questions which trouble our spirit. Even if the forces of darkness appear to prevail, those who believe in God know that evil and death do not have the final say,” the Pillar says.

For the 10-year anniversary, a prayer service was held at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, in which a Brooklyn pastor said, “We decided to have exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. People flocked to the church… We held many funerals for police and fire persons who gave their lives,” the article adds.

Church leaders have also offered some unique takes on the attacks. Franciscan Friar Father Brian Jordan, for example, offers a video recounting of a story of the Ground Zero Cross that stood tall after the attack despite being in the middle of so much carnage.