Shrine to replace church destroyed on 9/11 nears completion

By PETER SMITH
Associated Press

A ceremonial lighting on Sept. 10 will be a milestone in the reconstruction of the only house of worship to be destroyed on 9/11. The ceremony, held on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the attacks, will occur at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine in New York. The original parish church was crushed by falling debris from the World Trade Center. The lighting will come from within panels of marble, quarried from the same vein used for the ancient Greek Parthenon. The reconstruction, long beset with bureaucratic and financial woes, is due for completion next year.