A weeping Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) sat center stage at Thursday’s 9/11 ceremony on the Capitol steps, where House and Senate leaders paid tribute to those killed seven years ago today in the nation’s worst terrorist attack.

More than 100 lawmakers lined the steps and waved American flags as Congressional leaders delivered remarks honoring the heroes of 9/11 and mourning the dead.

“Love is as strong as death,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) cited the “small band of wicked men” who attacked America and said Sept. 11 “will always be a day of sadness.”

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called for a moment of silence and said Congress can honor first responders by “meeting the health needs of those who linger to this day.”

The 90-year-old Byrd, seated in a wheelchair with a bowed head and holding a flag, frequently wiped his eyes and called out “yes Lord” and “bring peace” during remarks about the courage of Americans after the 9/11 attack and in Iraq.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who stood beside Byrd, patted him on the shoulder as he became emotional.