Oklahoma City bombing: A church’s impact

Anne-Marie Hagen April 19, 2023 5:00 pm

April 19, 1995, the day of the Oklahoma City Murrah building bombing has been memorialized. The bombing affected countless lives and destroyed parts of the surrounding buildings.

A mere 100 yards away stood and still stands St. Joseph’s Old Cathedral.

On that day in 1995 shards of glass rained down and debris covered the floor of the almost 100-year-old church. The church executed the necessary repairs, but something more was to be done in response to the unspeakable tragedy. A memorial was made.

In between the Saint Joseph’s and the bombing site, the church and the archdiocese of Oklahoma City erected a memorial featuring a statue titled “And Jesus Wept.”

The statue of Jesus faces away from the bombing site and faces a grey, granite wall.

This wall has 168 niches in it, the number of people who are believed to have died in the bombing. Each niche represents a life lost.

We remember them to this day.