Over 1,000 people gathered for the funeral Mass of Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, who were killed in their Brooklyn Park home June 14 in what has been called a politically motivated attack.
Former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris attended the funeral at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis, along with Gov. Tim Walz and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. Walz was a pallbearer.
Father Daniel Griffith, pastor of the Basilica, presided alongside Archbishop Bernard Hebda and Bishop Emeritus Richard Pates.
During his homily, Father Griffith said, “We believe that death does not end in itself, but rather onto new life through the victory of Jesus Christ. … Indeed, they (the Hortmans) lived lives with purpose and meaning, lives lived in service of others in community with those they loved, their family and friends. … As Mary accompanied her son to the cross, she accompanies us as a tender mother in our time of need.”
On June 27, the Hortmans were laid in state at the Minnesota State Capitol building. Their dog, Gilbert, injured during the attack and later euthanized, also was honored. John Cunningham, the assistant commissioner for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, told the congregation that more than 7,500 people paid their respects at the Capitol. Cunningham was previously the fire chief for Brooklyn Park, which is how he knew the Hortmans.
Vance Boelter, 57, faces federal and state charges for the killings.
In his eulogy after the Mass, Walz said that the grace and courage shown by the Hortmans’ children, Sophie and Colin, has made it easier for the state of Minnesota and the United States.
“We’re not always going to get it right, after all we’re only human,” Walz said. “But the best way to honor these remarkable Minnesotans is to continue to work at building a state worthy of their aspirations and a politics worthy of their example.”
“I know that in these times of this unexplainable tragedy, all of us are searching for some kind of meaning, some kind of lesson that we can learn to help ease our loss,” Walz said. “And maybe it is this moment where each of us can examine the way we work together, the way we talk about each other, the way we fight for things we care about. A moment when each of us can recommit to engaging in politics and life the way Mark and Melissa did: fiercely, enthusiastically, heartily, but without ever losing sight of our common humanity.”
Walz previously called the shootings “a politically motivated assassination.”
Also in his homily, Father Griffith said that Minnesota was ground zero for racial injustice with the death of George Floyd in 2020 and was ground zero for political violence and extremism with the death of the Hortmans.
“Both of these must be decried in the strongest possible terms as they are respectively a threat to human dignity and indeed our democracy,” Father Griffith said.
But, Father Griffith said, he believes Minnesota can be ground zero for justice and restoration.
Speaking of the current political climate in the United States, Father Griffith said, “Hope is present here. My hope is in a God who made heaven and Earth, who created and redeemed us, and who seeks our healing and our restoration. The path of healing and restoration begins with each of us in our hearts. That’s where healing first begins. In our own hearts, and in accepting the invitation by God to be loved, to enter into friendship with God, and to be sent in our society as a leaven for good.”
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