Pastor at St. Patrick Parish in Yorkville continues to honor friend lost on 9/11

When September arrives in the U.S., those old enough to remember Sept. 11, 2001, often think back on those moments frozen in time. Some may remember where they were the moment they realized we were under attack; others may remember the impacts felt from that day; but all remember the lives that were lost.

The Rev. Matt Lamoureux, pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Yorkville thinks of 9/11 every time he wears a specific white vestment. This particular vestment is called a chasuble, a sleeveless outer garment worn by a priest celebrating a Mass.

This chasuble has a direct connection to 9/11 – it was given to him by Amy, the then-longtime-girlfriend of Greg Milanowycz, a 25-year-old insurance broker for Aon who was working that day on the 93rd floor of the South Tower b of the World Trade Center.

Milanowycz and Lamoureux were college friends who graduated from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia a few years before 9/11. The last time the two of them spent time together was just three months before the attack.

Lamoureux saw Milanowycz at a party for a mutual friend in New York City, and soon the two struck up a conversation. They talked about their vocational paths, and Milanowycz said he was still dating his girlfriend from college, adding that marriage may possibly be in their future.

Over the next three months, Lamoureux moved to his order’s seminary in Washington, D.C., residing just about three miles from the Capitol.

“I remember that day [Sept. 11] being very beautiful; it was a clear sky, and I was rushing into the seminary because I was a little late for the class,” he said. “The secretary was watching on the TV about how a small plane had hit the World Trade Center in New York. I thought ‘well, that’s unusual,’ and then I ran up and into the class.”

As the class went on, the seminarians began to hear bits and pieces of what was going on that morning, but it wasn’t until their first break in the class that they could watch some of the coverage themselves.

Lamoureux learned from a mutual friend that Milanowycz, who worked on the 93rd floor of the south tower, was missing. Later, when more details from the day became known, he learned that Milanowycz never made it out of the tower that day.

According to news reports compiled years later based on phone calls and witness statements from that day, it became known that Milanowycz had urged others to leave, many of whom survived, while he remained in the building, eventually gathering with 30 other people who were trapped on one of the upper floors. He reached his father by phone, and his father relayed messages between Milanowycz and an emergency services dispatcher that he had on another line.

The south tower collapsed shortly after that moment.

Fast-forward to about three years ago. Amy contacted Lamoureux and asked him if he would like a chasuble that had been made in Milanowycz’s honor and had never been used.

“I said that I would be honored, and it was sent to me, and so now I wear that on different occasions,” Lamoureux said. “I’m honored to be able to wear this in his memory, to pray for him and to remember our friendship. I also wear it in his memory for his family and friends, and for all of those who lost their lives on 9/11. It’s a concrete reminder of them, and it’s also a reminder that we give everything to God and trust in his plan, his mercy, and that no evil triumphs over God and his plan. God, who is love itself, always wins in the end. United we stand, especially when we stand with God.”

Lamoureux intends to wear the chasuble during a special first responders Mass at 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 11, to commemorate 9/11 and those who were lost that day, as well as those who served and continue to serve our country as first responders. All, especially first responders, are invited to attend, and there will be a reception with light refreshments after Mass at 2 p.m.