Multireligious Responses to Wellstone's Death

October 28, 2002

Source: Star Tribune

On October 28, 2002 the Star Tribune reported that "through silence and song, sermons and witness, halting voices and tears, Minnesotans of all denominations mourned the late U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone on Sunday... Commemorations weren't confined to churches. Outside the State Capitol, nearly 300 people, most of them Hmong, gathered to praise the Wellstones...         The nearly two-hour-long service began with a traditional Hmong mourning procession. Hundreds marched from the Veterans Memorial to the Capitol steps, accompanied by music said to announce to the spirits that a deceased relative is coming to their world...         Speaking in Hmong, state Sen. Mee Moua, DFL-St. Paul, tearfully described Wellstone's impact on her, leading many to lower their heads and cry as well."