Villanova Memorializes 9/11 Victims Through Symbolic Stained Glass and Service to Students

Beautifully Memorialized in Corr Chapel's Window

Inside Corr Hall Chapel, a unique stained glass window offers a loving tribute to those who died in the attacks. The memorial was designed by the Rev. Richard G. Cannuli, OSA, '73 CLAS, an Augustinian friar, artist and University professor, who served as curator and director of the Villanova University Art Gallery prior to his passing in 2019.

The memorial window consists of two main panels with several smaller ones above, held together by a lead frame and bordered by ornamental stonework. The window's left pane depicts the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Orate (prayer) position. The pane on the right shows the twin towers, the Pentagon and the field near Shanksville, Pa.-the sites where the hijacked planes crashed.

With the permission of their families, the names of the 15 Villanova alumni who perished that day were inscribed meticulously by hand in Gothic lettering at the bottom of the panel with the twin towers. The names were not sequenced alphabetically, encouraging viewers to read through each one.

Details illustrated in the smaller panels included the date of the attacks, which appears near the top in Roman numerals (IX-XI), the flight numbers of the four hijacked planes, also in Roman numerals, and window shapes picturing the heavens and stars. Collectively, the elements all converge to represent the Augustinian expression of love and empathy.

For Father Cannuli, a decorated iconographer, his work on the window-which totaled more than 300 hours-started early in 2005, when he began sketching a memorial design to "write" as an icon (an icon is described as being "written," rather than painted).

"It took me a long time to process what happened that day," said Father Cannuli in 2007. "I wanted to do some creative work to mark the day, but I did not want to start writing the icon until I was able to pray and place myself in the right position."

He began with a few rough thumbnail sketches drawn in pencil. After discussions with then-newly appointed University President the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, PhD, '75 CLAS-who had admired the icon and himself sought to memorialize the victims in a special way-Father Cannuli translated these sketches into scale drawings. He then rendered them in watercolor and next transferred his renderings onto paper, before taking the design to the Vetrate Artistiche Toscane glass studio in Siena, Italy, which had manufactured many of Father Cannuli's previous stained glass window designs. He consulted with their artisans on the form of the windows throughout the project.

The memorial window, which took nearly nine months to complete, was scheduled to be shipped and installed in time to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in 2006. Heightened airport security delayed the window's inspection at US Customs, and the memorial was installed and dedicated a few months later, in November.

"I want this window to be a fitting and sensitive permanent memorial for the Villanova victims of the 9/11 tragedy and for their families," said Father Donohue shortly after its dedication. "The window depicts in a beautiful way that they are now in the hands of God, and that connects us."

A Legacy of Service to Students, in the Names of Those We Lost

In the year following the tragedy, the family of Jennifer L. Kane '97 VSB-one of the young Villanova alumni who lost her life in New York that day-decided to honor her memory by supporting future students. Inspired by Kane's life and character, and with the intent to provide young women like her the opportunity of a Villanova education, they created the Jennifer L. Kane Endowed University Scholarship. As of 2026, 24 Villanova School of Business students have now been afforded that same educational opportunity in her honor.

The Kane family was just the first to honor a loved one lost on 9/11 in a way that benefitted future generations of Villanovans. Over the last two decades, five additional endowed scholarships have been founded to memorialize members of the Villanova community who perished in the attacks or the aftermath. Collectively, they have awarded nearly $850,000 in scholarships to 71 students.

Each one carries the unique spirit of the individuals for whom they are named:

• The W. David Bauer '78 Endowed Scholarship Fund provides support to a Villanova student who is experiencing financial difficulties resulting from a personal hardship. Bauer was a VSB alumnus and member of the Football team, who lost his life in the attacks shortly before he was to be inducted into the University's Varsity Club Hall of Fame.

• The legacy of Danielle Kousalis '93 VSB, a member of the Rowing team at Villanova, lives on in the form of the Danielle's Spirit Endowed Scholarship, founded by her friends in her honor and given to female student-athletes in need of financial assistance.

• Students who come from families of law enforcement or emergency services professionals have been supported by the Ned Thompson Memorial Scholarship Fund. Sgt. Thompson, a Villanova graduate, was a veteran of the NYPD and first responder at Ground Zero. He survived that day but later developed deadly lung cancer from the dust and passed away in 2008.

• The Christopher M. Dincuff '92 Endowed Memorial Scholarship provides assistance to the senior Men's Basketball manager, in honor of the namesake's passion for Villanova Basketball.

• The Jeannine Damiani-Jones '94 Endowed Memorial Scholarship for VSB was created by her husband, Shawn, to ensure other female students in the school could carry on her legacy.

A seventh endowed fund-the Dennis M. Cook '90 Endowed Gregor Mendel Chair in Genetics-directly supports the University's research program in genetics and the faculty member who leads it, while also impacting the students involved in the program.

"These scholarships and funds allow the unique spirit of these individuals to live on in beautiful, meaningful ways that continue to benefit so many different members of our community," said Kevin Noller, '04 CLAS, '09 MBA, vice president for University Advancement at Villanova. "Along with the stained glass memorial, they have also helped people heal while ensuring that however many years pass, Villanova will never forget."

Together, these tributes ensure that the Villanovans we lost as a result of that tragic day are remembered most for the lives they lived and for all that has grown from their memory.