9/11 ceremony live updates: Families to gather at WTC, Pentagon, Shanksville to mark 25 years

FDNY Chaplain Mychal Judge raced to the twin towers on Sept. 11, 2001 from his midtown Engine Company One / Ladder Company 24.

As the chaos unfolded, he prayed for the people trapped, for the rescuers and for humanity. His legacy of hope and service live on a quarter century after his death when the south tower collapsed.

An image of Judge's body being carried from the rubble became one of the enduring symbols of the attacks.

Months after 9/11, Father Judge's gear and helmet were recovered. They are now on display at the New York City Fire Museum, alongside the FDNY memorial.

Twenty-five years after he rushed to help others on 9/11, FDNY Chaplain Father Mychal Judge's legacy of faith and compassion continues to inspire.

A memorial bell created to honor FDNY members and other first responders who died from 9/11-related illnesses has arrived at the New York City Fire Museum ahead of its official unveiling on Sept. 11.

The bell completed a monthslong journey that began in Italy and ended in Lower Manhattan, where a small group gathered outside the museum to witness its arrival.

The project was led by Dominick DeRubbio, director of the New York City Fire Museum, who said the effort was intended to recognize those who continued to suffer and die from illnesses related to the terrorist attacks.

Kemberly Richardson has more on the arrival of the memorial bell.

As the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks approaches, Lower Manhattan stands as a symbol of both remembrance and renewal, with residents, workers and leaders reflecting on the area's transformation over the past quarter-century.

Once known primarily as a financial district, Lower Manhattan has evolved into a broader community in the years since the attacks.

For those who witnessed the aftermath of Sept. 11 firsthand, the area's recovery remains remarkable.

"In one of the most dire circumstances, if not the most dire, that New York City ever faced, we bounced back," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

N.J. Burkett spoke to people reflecting on September 11th, and what's changed in 25 years.

Former Sarasota, Florida, second grade student Krystal Davis remembers a wave of confusion washing over her and her classmates on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, after a suited man whispered into the ear of the president of the United States, who was seated just in front of the students.

Then-President George W. Bush was visiting Emma E. Booker Elementary School and had been listening intently to the children in Mrs. Sandra Daniels' second-grade class flexing their reading skills, when the look of admiration on his face suddenly gave way to an expression of concern.

Students remembers a wave of confusion on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, after a suited man whispered into the ear of the president of the United States, who was seated just in front of the students.

Chief of Staff Andrew Card had just relayed to Bush that a second plane had crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City. "America is under attack," he later recalled whispering to the president.

"You could see the shift with [the president] once he got the message, and then you could see it on his face," Davis said in an interview with ABC News commemorating 25 years since the 9/11 attacks. "And then the shift of him going back to his normal self and smiling like, 'I don't want to alarm the kids.'"

MORE | Students with President George W. Bush on 9/11 reflect on the day: 'You could see it on his face'