Charlie Kirk was assassinated on September 10. On Sunday, September 21, his public memorial service was held at the NFL stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Hundreds of thousands of mourners attended to pay their respects and show support for Kirk and his family.
Kirk leaves behind a wife, Erika Kirk, whom he married in 2021. The couple also has two children: a three-year-old daughter and a one-year-old son. His widow attended the memorial and addressed the crowd with a passionate speech.
Erika Kirk Gives Passionate Speech
When Erika took to the stage, she was greeted by almost two minutes of applause, CNN reports. When the crowd settled, she began to speak. In Erika’s speech, she reflected on her husband’s mission, her feelings surrounding his passing, and she sent a message of forgiveness.
“I arrived at a Utah hospital to do the unthinkable,” she reflected on seeing her husband for the first time after his passing. She commented on how she saw the wound on his neck and the emotions she felt in that moment. “I felt shock, I felt horror, and a level of heartache that I didn’t even know existed,” she said.
There was a moment where she noticed a gray hair on his head, which she shared she had “never told him about,” she said with a laugh, CNN reports.
Erika Kirk Delivers Message of Forgiveness
Erika’s message was also one of forgiveness as she addressed the person allegedly responsible for her husband’s passing. “I forgive him,” she told the crowd.
“That young man. That young man. On the cross our savior said, ‘Father, forgive them for they know not what they do’ — that man, that young man, I forgive him,” she said, the New York Post reports. At this moment, the crowd rose in ovation, showing support for Erika’s comments.
Erika continued, “I forgive him because it was what Christ did. And what Charlie would do. The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the Gospel is love and always love. Love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.”
There were 200,000 people who attended the memorial, and the stadium could only fit 73,000 people, the New York Post reports. Many of these mourners were moved by Erika’s powerful speech, with the publication reporting that people had tears in their eyes when she delivered her message of forgiveness.
