Last night, Joseph Skiba stepped into church for Catholic mass and confession for the first time in 61 years.
Skiba, reeling from Tuesday's tragedy, turned to religion as comfort in a time of sorrow.
"I'd like to go to mass every Sunday," he said. "I feel it, I really feel it."
Skiba, who was visiting St. Agatha St. James at 38th and Chestnut streets, is not alone in his recent embrace of religion. Nationwide and at Penn, more and more people are setting foot in places of worship, seeking solace after last week's seemingly inexplicable terrorist attacks.
The increased attendance in area churches, mosques and synagogues reflects the tendency of a community to turn toward religion during times of crisis. Philadelphia citizens and members of the Penn community have flocked to services over the past week, many of whom have not even given their respective faiths much thought in the past few years.
"I went to church in the middle of the week," College senior Hayes Robbins said of his trip to services Wednesday evening. "That is something I would rarely ever do."
Marian Bochs, a West Philadelphia resident, was raised in a Baptist family outside Atlanta. Estranged from her faith since she moved away from home, Bochs found herself drawn to the back pews of a packed Sunday morning service at the Chestnut Street Baptist Church.
"I can't explain why I came," Bochs said. "The idea of being in church seemed so comforting this morning and comforting is something we all need right now."
Bochs isn't alone in her needs. University Chaplain William Gipson justifies the masses turning to faith with Psalm 46, a passage that speaks to the circumstances of the most unimaginable disasters:
God is our protection and our strength. He always helps in times of trouble.
So we will not be afraid even if the earth shakes, Or the mountains fall into the sea,
Even if the oceans roar and foam, Or the mountains shake at the raging sea. Psalm 46: 1-3
"I begin with that psalm because I feel like that is where we are as a nation," Gipson said.
"The Twin Towers and the Pentagon represent stability and strength and in only a matter of hours they have been destroyed so that we are shaken as a people."
Gipson believes that people of faith would naturally turn to a house of worship for the comfort that the community can offer to them, but is also certain that non-believers would similarly find a sense of calm in worship.
"I think for all of us, even those who don't normally practice a certain religion, there is a need to gather together and I think the religious communities do that in a fine fashion," Gipson said. "Some people who, for whatever reason, have distanced themselves from the religion they grew up with may begin to turn back to faith, develop their lives with a deeper meaning."
College freshman Nathan Bagnaschi, who had not been to church for quite some time, felt like last night was an appropriate time to return to Catholic mass.
"I thought it would be a good idea because I really haven't been coming to church for a while and I thought it was about time," he said. "Especially given the circumstances."
Tonight marks the beginning of the Jewish High Holy Days, which deals with reflection on the meaning of life and emphasizes communities gathering.
This year, Hillel greeted an influx of people a few days earlier than they normally would have.
"There were tons of people at services Friday night and people streaming in throughout the week," Hillel Director Jeremy Brochin said. "We're a community that people naturally gravitate to when there are issues or concerns out there."
In services throughout the next week, the Sept. 11 tragedy will figure prominently in the words of religious leaders of all faiths.
"I think lots of the words of liturgy will echo for people in new ways because of what has happened," Brochin said. "You always read religious language through your personal experiences. Religious language is poetry that resonates in different modes for different people in different moments.
"I think it will take on a whole new meaning for people after the events of last week."
Centers of Muslim worship throughout Philadelphia have also seen crowds swell.
"We have experienced a fantastically higher turnout in a phenomenal way," Minister Rodney Muhammad, of Mosque No. 12 on Broad Street, said. "The people are definitely coming out in larger and greater numbers. They are vividly shaken by the turn of events and looking for places to find peace in their souls."
"I just feel that it can give people a form of support and some form of restitution," Wharton sophomore Chris Dougherty said.
Though the unthinkable terror wrought on the United States last week brings many to church, for others, it has the opposite effect.
Gipson said that questioning one's faith in times of crisis is a natural process that can occur for those who believe a god will let nothing bad happen to those who lead good lives.
The televised funeral of the Rev. Mychal Judge, a chaplain with the New York City Fire Department who died in a collapse of debris while delivering last rites to victims of the attack, makes these questions more poignant.
"It will awaken many people to the complexities of faith," Gipson said. "Anger is a path to intimacy and through this anger people will find themselves more connected to family and friends even if they choose to distance themselves from religion. Everyone will cope differently with the pain."
Daily Pennsylvanian staff writer Robert Steinman contributed to this report.
