I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1027 
To provide for the award of a gold medal on behalf of Congress posthumously 
to Father Mychal Judge, O.F.M., beloved Chaplain of the Fire Depart-
ment of New York who passed away as the first recorded victim of 
the September 11, 2001, attacks in recognition of his example to the 
Nation of selfless dedication to duty and compassion for one’s fellow 
citizens. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 10, 2011 
Mr. WEINER (for himself, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. BISHOP of New York, Mr. 
CROWLEY, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. HIGGINS, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. 
KING of New York, Mrs. LOWEY, Mrs. MALONEY, Mrs. MCCARTHY of 
New York, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. NADLER, Mr. OWENS, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. 
SERRANO, Mr. TONKO, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Ms. HAYWORTH, Mr. GIBSON, 
Mr. GRIMM, Mr. HANNA, Mr. TOWNS, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, and Ms. CLARKE 
of New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To provide for the award of a gold medal on behalf of 
Congress posthumously to Father Mychal Judge, O.F.M., 
beloved Chaplain of the Fire Department of New York 
who passed away as the first recorded victim of the 
September 11, 2001, attacks in recognition of his exam-
ple to the Nation of selfless dedication to duty and 
compassion for one’s fellow citizens. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Father Mychal Judge, 
O.F.M., Congressional Gold Medal Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Father Mychal Judge, O.F.M., beloved 
Chaplain of the Fire Department of New York 
passed away as the first recorded victim of the Sep-
tember 11, 2001, after courageously rushing to the 
World Trade Center to support, console, and admin-
ister last rites to the victims of the attacks. 
(2) A native of Brooklyn, New York, Judge was 
born on May 11, 1933, to Irish Catholic immigrants 
from County Leitrim. 
(3) After his father died of a long illness when 
Judge was 6 years old, Judge took odd jobs and 
shined shoes at Penn Station to help support his 
mother and 2 sisters. 
(4) Responding to his strong spiritual calling, 
Judge entered the Franciscans in 1954. 
(5) He trained at 4 seminaries in New York, 
New Jersey, New Hampshire, and the District of 
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Columbia and was ordained a Priest of the Francis-
can Order of Friars Minor in 1961. 
(6) From 1961 to 1986, Father Judge served 
at St. Anthony’s Shrine in Boston, Massachusetts, 
St. Joseph’s in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sa-
cred Heart in Rochelle Park, New Jersey, Siena Col-
lege in Loudonville, New York, and as pastor at St. 
Joseph’s in West Milford, New Jersey. 
(7) In 1986, Father Judge was assigned to the 
Monastery of St. Francis of Assisi Church on West 
31st Street, New York, where he served until his 
death in 2001. 
(8) Known for his tremendous capacity for com-
passion, Judge was beloved by the firefighters and 
by the city he served. 
(9) Judge would daily send notes or make tele-
phone calls to recognize birthdays, anniversaries, 
and other significant dates in the lives of the people 
he knew. 
(10) In 1994, Father Mychal Judge, O.F.M., 
was named as one of the chaplains for the New York 
Fire Department serving the boroughs of Manhat-
tan, the Bronx, and Staten Island. 
(11) Father Judge was also well known for 
ministering to those often alienated by the Church, 
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including the homeless, immigrants, recovering alco-
holics, gays and lesbians, and people with AIDS. 
(12) In the early 1980s, Judge was also one of 
the first clergymen to minister to gay men with 
AIDS, their partners, and their families. 
(13) Father Mychal Judge’s funeral was held 
on September 15, 2001. 
(14) Cardinal Edward Egan presided over a 
Mass of 3,000 people, including city officials, Presi-
dent Bill Clinton, and Secretary Hillary Clinton, 
who called Judge a ‘‘bearer of light’’ and noted his 
death as a special loss. 
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 
(a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 
the House of Representatives and the President pro tem-
pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 
for the presentation, on behalf of the Congress, of a gold 
medal of appropriate design to the next of kin or personal 
representative of Father Mychal Judge, O.F.M., in rec-
ognition of his example to the Nation of selfless dedication 
to duty and compassion for one’s fellow citizens. 
(b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purpose of the 
presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 
of the Treasury shall strike a gold medal with suitable em-
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