Almost a yr after FDNY Monsignor John Delendick’s loss of life from a 9/11-related sickness, a plaque dedication ceremony honoring the beloved chaplain was held Friday morning on the Brooklyn firehouse he referred to as residence.
Delendick, who died on Thanksgiving in 2023 at age 74 from pancreatic most cancers, was remembered as each a beneficiant and humorous determine, fiercely devoted to the firefighters who make up the division.
“The Monsignor was a calming and steadying voice in their times of need. On good days he was a friend and a confidant, quick with a joke and a jab,” stated Hearth Commissioner Robert Tucker to the group gathered within the Canarsie firehouse.
FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker speaks throughout a plaque dedication ceremony honoring FDNY Chaplain Monsignor John Delendick on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, at Engine Firm 257 Firehouse on Rockaway Pkwy. in Brooklyn. (Theodore Parisienne for New York Each day Information)
The plaque, which is to be put in at Ladder 170/Engine 25/Battalion 58, mentions his work “shepherding our members during the rescue and recovery efforts” within the wake of 9/11. The occasion not solely finally claimed his life however was the middle of a lot of the work he did after the assaults.
The Queens native was ordained on Feb. 12, 1977, and have become an FDNY chaplain 19 years later after serving in church buildings throughout Brooklyn. Delendick took over because the division’s senior chaplain after Father Mychal Decide turned the primary official sufferer of 9/11.
“He never forgot who was left behind and the years that followed were devoted to 9/11 families and this department,” stated Tucker.
A plaque dedication ceremony honoring FDNY Chaplain Monsignor John Delendick, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (Theodore Parisienne for New York Each day Information)
Delendick returned to the positioning a number of instances within the aftermath of the terrorist assaults, with the poisonous mud of decrease Manhattan finally sickening the veteran priest. He organized boat journeys for 9/11 households to go to Floor Zero solely weeks after the assault, gathering the mourners for a prayer on their journey from the Brooklyn Naval Yard to the positioning.
Even after his analysis of most cancers, Delendick continued his work within the 9/11 neighborhood.
“Today we are here to remember someone who didn’t give a little more, he gave a lot more,” stated FDNY Chaplain Rabbi Joseph Potasnik.
The plaque honoring FDNY Chaplain Monsignor John Delendick, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (Theodore Parisienne for New York Each day Information)
