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Iconic World Trade Center cross moved to permanent 9/11 Memorial site

By the CNN Wire Staff
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Two intersecting steel beams form the shape of a cross
  • The cross was uncovered in the rubble of the World Trade Center collapse
  • The cross will become a permanent part of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum

New York (CNN) -- The iconic World Trade Center cross -- two intersecting steel beams that held up when the Twin Towers collapsed on September 11, 2001 -- was moved Saturday to its new home at the nearby 9/11 Memorial and Museum.

Recovery workers and their families were among those invited to attend a ceremonial blessing before the cross, which was uncovered in the rubble of the collapsed buildings. The service was led by Father Brian Jordan, a Franciscan monk who ministered to workers clearing the area after the 9/11 attacks.

"After a 10-year journey of faith, the World Trade Center Cross has finally found its home," Jordan said, according to a news release from organizers of the event. "I am grateful to the leadership of the Memorial Museum for their sensitivity, compassion and professionalism. I urge all those who believe in the consolation and power of the Cross to visit it in its future home in the Memorial Museum."

Joe Daniels, 9/11 Memorial president, said the cross is "an important part of our commitment to bring back the authentic physical reminders that tell the history of 9/11 in a way nothing else could.

"Its return is a symbol of the progress on the Memorial & Museum that we feel rather than see, reminding us that commemoration is at the heart of our mission."

This September 11 will mark the 10th anniversary of the attacks, and the memorial will be dedicated that day. It will open to the public the following day. A museum at the same site will open in 2012.

CNN's Rachel Garrett contributed to this report.