From NFL stadiums to the Kennedy Center to small towns and cities around the world, a wave of prayer vigils, moments of silence, and tributes honoring the life of Charlie Kirk reveal how his faith and dedication to truth are fueling a renewed movement — even in the shadow of tragedy.
Charlie Kirk’s tragic assassination on Sept. 10 for speaking truth shocked the world, with widespread shock and grief and a prayerful, powerful response breaking out around the world.
From tributes held in America’s sports stadiums and the Kennedy Center to prayer vigils and pop-up memorials in smalltown America to the largest cities in the world, his legacy has now transcended politics and borders through his faith-inspired advocacy.
Worldwide, in South Korea, the U.K., Germany, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and many other countries, supporters gathered at candlelit vigils to mourn and affirm that Kirk’s message would not die with him. In London, for example, Hundreds of thousands paid tribute during a preplanned free speech protest known as “United the Kingdom,” which with an estimated 2.4 million participants attending is now considered one of the largest conservative demonstrations the United Kingdom in decades. The event added a solemn remembrance of Charlie Kirk that included a moment of silence and a lone bagpiper playing “Amazing Grace.”
In Sydney, hundreds held vigil, while in Seoul, faith leaders and conservative activists who had just hosted Kirk at the Build Up Korea 2025 spoke of his influence. “I know you feel the pain of this loss of Charlie, but it’s going to take more than one bullet to silence his message,” Joel Jammal, founder of Turning Point Australia, said to a crowd of around 350 in Sydney.
In the sports world, tributes were held throughout the week that echoed that sentiment. NFL teams, including the Dallas Cowboys, New York Jets, Tennessee Titans, New Orleans Saints, Miami Dolphins, and Pittsburgh Steelers, paused for a moment of silence just before kickoff. Prior to the Cowboys-Giants matchup, AT&T Stadium fell silent as fans reflected, with video remembrances of his life and influence displayed on the jumbotron.
In Major League Baseball, the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees also paid tribute, honoring Kirk with quiet ceremonies before their games.
Mourners also gathered at Garden City Park in the deep blue city of Beverly Hills on Sunday, with hundreds of supporters waving American flags and a sign that read “We are Charlie Kirk.”
Sunday night, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., overflowed with sorrow as leaders remembered Kirk during a prayer vigil and reflection on his life and legacy. Speakers included National Security Advisor Tulsi Gabbard, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, among others.
“We cannot allow ourselves to be terrorized into silence,” Gabbard said, adding,
“We need to live Charlie Kirk’s example, the example that he set, that is captured by the words of Rev. Martin Luther King: ‘Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.’ This was more than a quote from an icon in our past to Charlie — he lived this, every day. And he inspired countless people around the world to do the same.”
Leavitt also urged the crowd to continue Kirk’s work. “It’s going to take all of us in this room and all of us across the country, to take up Charlie’s torch,” she said. She remembered how he championed “outsiders, the up-and-coming truth tellers with new ideas who weren’t afraid to challenge the status quo,” and stressed that his belief in the Gospel, family, marriage, and children was central to his vision.
Speaker Johnson acknowledged “unspeakable sadness and grief and anger and even fear,” but reminded mourners that Kirk would “never want us to be overcome by despair,” that he would want “exactly the opposite.”
“Charlie Kirk recruited and trained and educated a generation of happy warriors, and we’d do well to be reminded that the best way to honor his memory and honor his unmatched legacy is to live as Charlie did,” Johnson said.
Kennedy also noted a conversation he had with Kirk during a podcast recording in 2021.
“When my brother David died, I had a conversation with my mother who had been through more than her share of loss and tragedy,” Kennedy said. “And I said, I asked her … ‘does the hole they leave in you when they die, does it ever get any smaller?’”
“And she said, no, it never gets any smaller. But our job is to build ourselves bigger around the hole,” he shared.
International leaders also expressed their condolences. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour all issued messages condemning the violence that led to the death Kirk’s death.
For Christians, there is both deep sorrow and stirring opportunity in these responses. The moments of silence at stadiums show that faith and public life are closely connected. The Kennedy Center prayer vigil — filled with Scripture, hymns of praise, Gospel declarations, and calls to action — confirms that in death as in life, Charlie Kirk embodied convictions grounded in Christ.
Christian parents, students, pastors, and believers are also grieving this tragic loss, but they must also heed Kirk’s call to boldly live out their faith even in the face of danger. Sacrifice may be painful, but it is not in vain. We are called to raise our voices in support of family, faith, and biblical truth even when others are loudly opposed. Believers are to pray for those in mourning, engage in public discourse with grace, and pursue a culture where speaking truth is honored rather than canceled.
Erika Kirk spoke just hours after a suspect was apprehended in the murder of her husband. She boldly declared that her husband’s work will continue.
“The evildoers responsible for my husband’s assassination have no idea what they have done. They killed Charlie because he preached a message of patriotism, faith, and of God’s merciful love. They should all know this. If you thought that my husband’s mission was powerful before, you have no idea. You have no idea what you have just unleashed across this entire country and this world. You have no idea. You have no idea the fire that you have ignited within this wife. The cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry,” she said.
“[T]he movement my husband built will not die. It won’t. I refuse to let that happen. It will not die. All of us will refuse to let that happen. No one will ever forget my husband’s name, and I will make sure of it. It will become stronger, bolder, louder, and greater than ever. My husband’s mission will not end, not even for a moment,” she continued.
Charlie Kirk once said, “My prayer is very simple: God use me for your will.”
Now, in his death, that prayer continues through tears, through moments of silence in stadiums, through demands for freedom and revival across the nations. May his legacy be lived out through our own lives and actions as we carry on the mission to spread truth, freedom, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
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