The decision about what to do with St. Joseph's chapel "would be a parish decision, as Saint Joseph's Chapel is a part of Saint Peter's Parish," Zwilling said. "The parish is still determining next steps, but at this point it appears as if only some kind of 'miracle' would keep the Chapel going."
"Father Quinn is making plans to properly preserve the 9/11 memorial, should Saint Joseph's Chapel close," he added.
But the chapel is the memorial, the parishioners argue, and an effort to preserve it by relocating the art, but vacating the space, would be beside the point.
During the post-9/11 reconstruction, everything that went into the chapel's interior spoke of hope and resurrection, Cuccia said.
"From the floor, to the wood on the walls and the altar, the windows - it was specifically designed to be a symbol of rebirth, renewal and growth, to say we're back, we got knocked down after 9/11 and we're back," Cuccia said.
"The church itself is the memorial. They say a church is made up of the people, and we will be a parish and a church wherever we go, but the 9/11 memorial will cease to exist if it's not (at St. Joseph's)."
The preservation of the Catholic 9/11 memorial is especially important to people like Cuccia who are unable to pay their respects at the World Trade Center memorial across the street, because they find it too upsetting.
"It's too painful to me, and I'm not the only one who has that feeling," Cuccia said.
"What happened to the people who lost their lives, the sacrifice and the heroism of the first responders, the way that I can respect them and honor them is to go to my chapel and memorial, because that I can manage, and that I can get some solace and comfort from," she said.
"All I can tell you is that after that horror, I saw the best of humanity that day," from the first responders to the random acts of kindness of strangers helping each other out on the street, she said.
"I saw the worst of people and the best of people that day, and when I go into that chapel, I see the best of people, and that's why it needs to be preserved."

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Mary Farrow worked as a staff writer for Catholic News Agency until 2020. She has a degree in journalism and English education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.