Rosary draws two strangers together on 9/11

Denise Donaldson was drawn back to her Catholic faith in part by praying the rosary with a stranger in New York during the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. 

Walking toward the twin smoking towers, Donaldson noticed a disoriented woman muttering to herself. The woman, who looked to Donaldson like she was in her 60s, said she couldn’t find her home.

Accompanying the woman as she searched for her residence, Donaldson noticed a crucifix hanging around the stranger’s neck. Although raised a Catholic, Donaldson was more of what she describes as a pagan at that time in her life. She hadn’t prayed the rosary in 15 years. Nevertheless, Donaldson asked the woman if she wanted to pray the rosary.

The new traveling companions were soon repeating Hail Mary’s, Our Father’s and Glory Be’s as they walked New York’s streets. Eventually, the pair came across a doorman who recognized the woman and brought her safely home.

As she kept heading toward Ground Zero, Donaldson watched in horror as the towers collapsed one by one.

“I just felt like I couldn’t stop praying the rosary at that point,” said Donaldson, who grew up in New Jersey. “It didn’t feel like a desperate prayer. It just felt like this was right.”

A few years later, as she kept reflecting on the events of Sept. 11 and the inexplicable way she found herself praying with a stranger, Donaldson started reconnecting with the faith of her youth. She became a secular Franciscan and, contrary to what she had expected, raised her two children in the Catholic Church.

By George P. Matysek Jr., September 8, 2021

Adapted from https://catholicreview.org/terror-of-9-11-reconnected-hunt-valley-parishioner-with-faith/