Father Joe was a great man, nothing makes this more evident than his call to Ground Zero on September 11th 2001. Despite every flight in the country being grounded that day, Father Joe somehow was on a flight later that morning to New York City. 

He managed to make it past the last civilian stop on the subway and onto the “pile” as it was called. He was made NYPD Police Chaplain that same day, and ministered to hundreds of first responders that needed spiritual guidance in the midst of 1.8 million tons of wreckage left from the collapse of the World Trade Center, where to begin? how to continue? 

In the 7th months he was at ground zero Father Joe made such an impact on the heroic effort that he was personally thanked by: President George Bush, New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, New York City Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta, The CEO of Marsh, Fema, The FBI, ATF, The Red Cross, and the NYPD.